Alligator-like creature caught in Toronto pond
Creature, which some say is actually a caiman, fascinates observers at Catfish Pond

theSpec.com
July 7, 2014
May Warren

Does High Park have its own mini Loch Ness Monster?

Members of the police marine unit and staff from Reptilia, a reptile zoo near Vaughan, have captured an alligator-like creature in Catfish Pond, on the west side of High Park.

The crew was called in city of Toronto animal control to help with the search after a local resident posted a video of the creature on YouTube.

Fiona Venedam, supervisor with animal services, says they've never seen anything like this in the pond. She said the creature is about 24 to 30 inches in length.

Teghan Stadnyk has lived near the park all her life. Her yard backs onto Catfish Pond, and she's used to seeing all sorts of wildlife there. But nothing like what she says she saw this past weekend.

"I was with my friends and we saw a like a little crocodile kind of sitting and hovering there," she says.

"It was pretty crazy and it actually flipped around a bit."

Stadnyk says she took a video of the creature, about the size of "an adult's arm," swimming around the greenish brown waters of the pond, and posted it to Facebook.

Her brother Kyle Stadnyk, who lives in British Columbia, saw the video on her account and posted the video to YouTube under the title "Caiman in Toronto Pond."

Kyle Stadnyk says he guesses that it is a caiman, a reptilian relative of the alligator, based on its size and Discovery Channel videos he's seen. He also says he contacted Animal Services at the City of Toronto.

"At first I was worried about my sister's dogs because they love to swim. I assumed it must be someone's pet and that the owner got tired of it and decided to release it into the pond," he recalls.

"Even if it doesn't bite my sister's dogs, it will probably eat some ducks, geese or baby swans."

But Teghan Stadnyk says she was more amused than afraid.

"We were, like, totally amazed. We were literally sitting there for like half an hour watching the thing. It was pretty out there."