APOLLO, Pa. — A group of kayakers spotted an alligator along the Kiski River on Saturday, and crews spent part of Monday searching for it after multiple reports of sightings over the weekend.
Jim Cibik, his wife, and friends were kayaking Saturday on the Kiski River when they heard shouting.
“We thought we heard them yelling ‘Alligator!’ And we just looked at each other and kinda laughed and said yeah they’re probably — whatever — trying to scare the girls,” Cibik told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek on the phone Monday.
Those shouts, and the alligator, were real.
Cibik’s friend snapped a few pictures, but they continued on — warning others.
“We said, ‘Hey guys! There’s an alligator about a mile up the road,’” Cibik recalled telling two people lounging on a rock. “They just kind of looked at us and laughed, thought we were probably joking. But we said, ‘We’re serious,’ and kept on floating.”
Despite the gator sighting, Karen Luffe and her daughter, Delores, hit the water in kayaks Monday.
“It doesn’t scare me at all,” Luffe said. “The potential of seeing it? Yeah, I’m kind of excited.”
The gator was spotted a few times over the weekend. Local emergency crews spent part of Monday looking for it.
“It’s like finding a needle in a haystack,” said Ken Kaminski, president of the Roaring Run Trail. “With this river and as swift as it is, it could be downriver toward Freeport right now. Who knows?”
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boating Commission doesn’t work with non-native species but will help if needed.
They say this was most likely someone’s pet.
“The biggest cost is that animal has been left out in a cruel environment that is unnatural to it and things typically don’t end well for those animals,” said Mike Parker, communications director.
It hasn’t stopped people from coming to the river to walk, bike, or kayak — even if they’re a little nervous
“What would go through your mind if you saw that alligator while you were walking today?” Havranek asked a young boy out for a walk with his family.
“Uh, I have no idea. I’d probably run and scream,” he said.
Experts told Channel 11 if you see that alligator in the water or on the banks of the river, do not approach it and call 911.
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