STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
As the climate changes, certain plants and animals are ranging farther south or farther north. We do not know if that is precisely why an alligator, a reptile well-known in the southern United States, turned up in Chicago's Humboldt Park lagoon.
NOEL KING, HOST:
Chance the Snapper was the name given to the alligator after a contest on social media. A week-long chase for him was first led by a volunteer nicknamed Alligator Bob.
INSKEEP: Of course.
KING: But eventually city officials brought in Frank Robb, who is an alligator expert from Florida. He captured Chance with his fishing pole.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
FRANK ROBB: Once we were able to see him, was one cast and done.
INSKEEP: Sure, simple - 5-foot-3 alligator, what could go wrong? The alligator, he says, did put up a little bit of a fight.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ROBB: People ask you how you catch an alligator. Just barely is the answer because it's usually just barely.
INSKEEP: Robb says this is the first alligator he has caught outside of Florida.
KING: And Chance sent Chicago into a frenzy. One guy tried to lure the gator with a rotisserie chicken.
INSKEEP: (Laughter).
KING: A police officer blared the "Jaws" theme song from his cruiser.
INSKEEP: (Singing) Ba-duh, duh (ph). People made alligator T-shirts and tote bags. And musicians even recorded a song about it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EL COCODRILO DE HUMBOLDT PARK")
YENDRYS CESPEDES: (Singing in Spanish).
INSKEEP: They are singing that the gator in the park does not have teeth.
KING: After he was captured, Chance the Snapper appeared at a press conference wearing a plaid bow tie. We don't know who did that to him. But Chance has been given a clean bill of health. And according to Chicago Animal Care and Control, he'll be transferred to an animal sanctuary.
INSKEEP: Whew. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.