No Alligators In Southwest Oklahoma

Tuesday, April 3rd 2007, 6:27 am

By: News On 6

WAURIKA, Okla. (AP) _ The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers say mass e-mails that say there is an alligator in Waurika Lake in southwestern Oklahoma are a hoax. Corps ranger Tim Adkins says they had received a lot of calls about the alleged alligator, but that members of the corps are working hard to let everyone know it is a hoax.

Adkins reviewed a photo that came with the e-mails and says a number of clues in the photo told him and his co-workers instantly the story was not true.

Spanish moss hung in the trees in the background, the water was clear and the park ranger in the photograph was not wearing an Oklahoma uniform.

Adkins says the water in Waurika Lake is murky and that Spanish moss doesn't grow in the area.

Alligators do live in southeastern Oklahoma in the Red Slough Wildlife Management Area, but are primarily found in the marshes and swamps of Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana.