For an NYC Alligator, Fame Then Death

A mysterious story from its start to brief finish: a 3-foot-long alligator was found crossing Ninth Avenue at 205th Street in Manhattan Thursday. What happened next is what you'd expect these days: The Police Department's 34th Precinct tweeted about it, bestowing fame upon the creature—and showing a bit of humor. (A subsequent tweet: "I heard he couldn't get a cab. And he wasn't thrilled with Uber either...") But the alligator's time in the spotlight was not to last: It was taken to the Manhattan Animal Care Center, where it was dubbed CockadoodleQ and freed from the duct tape that had been on its snout. But "sadly," the alligator died Friday, per a rep for the agency.

"We have no knowledge of the conditions CockadoodleQ had lived in prior to his arrival that contributed to his death," says the rep. The New York Times reports the reptile's age and cause of death are not known. It also points to a portion of the rep's statement that clarifies that residents aren't permitted to own such exotic pets. The New York Daily News adds that it's also still unknown whether the alligator escaped from somewhere or was discarded by its owner. (More Manhattan stories.)