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'There's an alligator out there': Cat finds severed alligator head in Wisconsin lake
Kent Wainscott
'There's an alligator out there': Cat finds severed alligator head in Wisconsin lake
CAT DRAGGED IN. AND I LOOKED OUT THERE IN THE CALM WATER AND I SAID, THERE’S AN ALLIGATOR OUT THERE. WENDY WEEZY EAGLE HAS SEEN PLENTY OF THINGS ON LAKE CASES IN HER TWO DECADES HERE, BUT NEVER AN ALLIGATOR. AND AFTER ALL, THIS WAS FAR AWAY. SHE WASN’T REALLY SURE OF WHAT SHE’D SEEN UNTIL A FEW DAYS LATER WHEN SHE SPOTTED HER TWO YEAR OLD RESCUE CAT TOAST DRAGGING SOMETHING UP FROM THE LAKE. IT WAS ABOUT THIS BIG. HONESTLY, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A SMALLER JUVENILE. SMALL ENOUGH FOR THE CAT TO DRAG IN. HEARD SMALL ENOUGH FOR THE CAT TO DRAG IN THERE ON THE GROUND IN FRONT OF HER. THE PIECES OF WHAT APPEARED TO BE THE HEAD OF A SMALL ALLIGATOR. AND I PUT THEM TOGETHER AND I’M LIKE, THAT’S A GATOR. I SAID, I’M CALLING THE DNR. THE DNR ARE CONFIRMS FOR 12 NEWS THAT IT IS THE HEAD OF WHAT WAS ABOUT A THREE FOOT LONG GATOR LIKELY A PET THAT SOMEONE HAD DUMPED INTO THE LAKE, WHICH WORRIES WENDY VERY CONCERNED BECAUSE WE SWIM OUT THERE, KIDS SWIM OUT THERE. WE’VE GOT BABIES ON THIS. AND WE DO NOT WANT ANYTHING TO HAPPEN. WE HAVE LOTS OF PETS AROUND HERE. WE DON’T WANT ANYTHING TO HAPPEN TO THEM. ONE THING THAT IS STILL A MYSTERY IS HOW JUST THE HEAD ENDED UP HERE ON THE SHORE FOR THE CAT TO FIND. WELL, WENDY HAS A THEORY ABOUT THAT, AND IT HAS TO DO WITH SOMETHING THAT SHE SAW OUT HERE ACROSS THE WATER DAYS EARLIER. IT WAS UP IN THE TOP OF THAT TREE. WAY OVER THERE, AN EAGLE THAT IS REGULARLY SEEN HERE ON THE LAKE. NEIGHBORS TOLD WENDY THEY HAD RECENTLY SEEN IT FEASTING ON SOMETHING RATHER LARGE. YEAH, THE EAGLE WAS REALLY HE WAS HUNTING FOR SOMETHING. IT’S HOW WENDY EXPLAINS AN ALLIGATOR HEAD IN HER YARD THAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN. I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT IN HARTLAND. I’M KENT WAINSCOTT WISN 12 NEWS. THE GATOR HEAD WAS SENT TO A WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST FOR FURTHER TESTING AND THE DNR IS ASKING ANYONE WITH INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE ALLIGATOR GOT INTO THE LAKE TO
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'There's an alligator out there': Cat finds severed alligator head in Wisconsin lake
Kent Wainscott
"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 Wisconsin'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 sister station WISN 12 News 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.Watch the video above for the full story.

"I looked out there in the calm water and I said, there's an alligator out there."

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Wendy Wiesehuegel says she has seen a lot of wildlife in her more than two decades living on Wisconsin'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 sister station WISN 12 News 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.

Watch the video above for the full story.