Cat finds severed alligator head in Waukesha County lake
DNR wardens investigating what happened and how the gator got into Lake Keesus
DNR wardens investigating what happened and how the gator got into Lake Keesus
DNR wardens investigating what happened and how the gator got into Lake Keesus
"I looked out there in the calm water and I said, there's an alligator out there."
Wendy Wiesehuegel says she has seen a lot of wildlife in her more than two decades living on Waukesha County's Lake Keesus, but never an alligator.
In fact, she wasn't really convinced of what she saw on the water last week until a few days later, when she spotted her 2-year-old rescue cat, who she named Burnt Toast, dragging something up from the lake.
The cat had dropped two disjointed pieces of, what appeared to be, the head of a small alligator.
"I put them together," Wiesehuegel said, "and I'm like, that's a gator. I'm calling the DNR."
Conservation Lt. Drew Starch of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources confirmed for WISN 12 News that the head is that of what was likely a 3-foot-long gator. He says it was probably a pet that someone had dumped into the lake.
Wiesehuegel worries about the danger that could pose.
"I'm very concerned," she said, "because we swim out there. Kids swim out there. We've got babies on this lake. So, we don't want anything to happen. We've got lots of pets around here. We don't want anything to happen to them."
What remains a mystery is how just the head ended up on the shore for the cat to find. Wiesehuegel speculates that an eagle that is regularly seen on the lake could be responsible. Neighbors told her they had seen it eating something rather large just days earlier.
The alligator head was sent to a DNR wildlife biologist for further testing.
Anyone with information about how the alligator got into Lake Keesus is urged to call the DNR's confidential tip line at 800-847-9367.