(CNN Español) – Imagine going shopping and running into a group of alligators. That was the surprise that some residents of Itá, a town in Paraguay, got 30 kilometers from Asunción.
It happened on January 27, after a strong storm that inundated the Itá lagoon: seven alligators of considerable size escaped and walked the city streets, according to authorities from Paraguay’s Ministry of Environment.
Credit: Itá Volunteer Fire Service
The residents of the area, amid amazement and fear, managed to capture photos and videos of the adventure of the alligators as they tour a commercial district and even reach a shopping center.
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After several hours, firefighters in the area rescued the reptiles and returned them to the lagoon where they live. Last weekend, however, the adventurous animals left again, so Itá’s fire brigade had no choice but to return them to their natural habitat.
Diego Caputo, general secretary of the municipality of Itá, explained to the television channel Telefuturo that the lagoon was flooded with the last rain and that the alligators were able to escape from the containment wall.
Caputo called the landing “historic,” something that never happened. He said they were surprised by the sudden rise of the water, which allowed the alligators to escape. He added that, as a result of what happened, they will be strengthening the protective fences along the water.
Credit: Itá Volunteer Fire Service
Fortunately it happened at night, because though the alligators [caimanes] they are an attraction of the city park, they can pose a danger if these kinds of phenomena occur that are beyond our control, ”said Caputo.
The civil organization called Salvemos la Laguna de Itá revealed in a statement that there is an overpopulation of alligators in the place. “Over time, it can endanger people. Lack of food allowed them to attack them, ”he warned. The organization recommended not to touch the alligators.
The fire department asked on its Twitter account to “alert the emergency line if anyone sees another alligator on the open road.”
Credit: Itá Volunteer Fire Service
Following the escape of the alligators, inspectors from the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADES), in the municipality of Itá, intervened for the improper handling of wild animals of the alligator species, which are in the lagoon and are under the care of the said municipality.
Gloria Centurión, environmental consultant for the Municipality of Itá, told the CN9 channel that the intervention of the Paraguayan Ministry of the Environment caught their attention as they have had alligators in the lagoon for over 30 years, the result of an ongoing agreement with the said portfolio .
Although those responsible stated that 10 specimens of alligators have been found in the lagoon, Centurión claims that the municipality does not know the exact number of alligators living in the lagoon, as they reproduced while running the lagoon. year. As reported by the Municipality of Itá on its Facebook page, a meeting between the authorities is scheduled for February 15 to collect data and coordinate joint actions.