Social media video shares apparent alligator sighting near Floodwood

FLOODWOOD — A video claiming to show an alligator swimming near Floodwood has gained traction on social media since its posting Saturday, July 26.

The video’s poster says the Department of Natural Resources confirmed the sighting and told the spotters that it won’t do anything about the gator unless it’s a menace.

But Brookston Conservation Officer Derek Peterlin, who patrols Floodwood, said it might be an alligator, but no one from the DNR has confirmed it, to his knowledge.

“We got really high water. We got a lot of things floating around in the rivers now because the high water’s taking everything with it," Peterlin said. "So, I don’t know what to think.”

Peterlin said he didn’t take the report of the sighting and has only heard about the video.

Chris Balzer, a DNR area wildlife manager in Cloquet, said there are mixed opinions on whether or not it shows an alligator. But he said the DNR has not confirmed the sighting.

"I told them that it might be a gator, but that's not confirmation in my mind," Balzer said. "But I think maybe it's misinterpretation of the words that were used."

There aren’t concerns for public safety, Peterlin said, and no one has called him worried for their safety.

“They’re just more concerned about, ‘Is this real or is this a joke or what is going on here?’" he said.

Finding the supposed gator would be like finding a needle in a haystack, he said, but if someone reported it, he would likely be the one to respond.

"I don't think it'd be surprising to folks, we don't really have a policy on how to deal with gators," Balzer said. "If there is a gator in the Floodwood River, one of the possible explanations is that maybe someone had it as a pet or something, and it got loose, or it got too big and they let it go.

"It's not going to make it to winter. It's not an invasive species or anything."

Peterlin said alligators are unprotected animals in Minnesota, meaning there’s no hunting season or rules.

“So if somebody ended up taking it — we would want to know, but I don’t think there’s any legal ramifications or anything like that for taking it if you saw it," he said. "'Cause we don’t want it here as much as anybody else.”

Balzer said that unique wildlife stories grab people's attention.

"They're big animals, and they're predators. But they're just new, and we're not used to them," he said. "We already have big predators around. We have wolves and we have bears and things, and there's a heck of a lot more of those than if there is even one gator."

Editor's note: This story was updated at 9 a.m. Thursday, July 31, to include comments from Balzer.