Scaly reptiles aren’t usually what come to mind when people think of Paris, but there has long been talk of a possible crocodile living in the city sewers.
Extraordinarily, those tales ended up being fact, here’s the details on the Parisian crocodile.
Council Project
The tale of the Parisian crocodile is a wild one that peaked four decades ago, back in 1984.
In the sewers, council workers were working on a project when they noticed something odd. As they drew nearer, they came to understand that a gigantic animal was in the sewers with them.
Nile Crocodile
As it turns out, a massive Nile crocodile had been living in the Paris sewer system near the Seine River.
The crocodile was named Eleanor, and a migration attempt started to assist with getting her out of the sewers. There were questions over how she ended up there in the first place.
Abandoned Pet
Although the full answer is unknown, many individuals believe that she was once a pet who outgrew her home.
Tragically, numerous ecological issues start along these lines, when people get a pet, tire of it, and afterward discharge it into nature.
Pest Control
However, it’s possible that Eleanor’s effects on the environment were actually beneficial.
It is difficult to feed a mature crocodile, and it appears that the number of rats in that area of the city has decreased. This led people to believe that Eleanor was responsible in hindsight.
Difficult Environment
Crocodiles are extremely poorly adapted to cold environments as a whole.
Eleanor may have been able to survive for much longer than first thought thanks to the city’s heat, which kept the sewer systems warm.
Regional Differences
As a matter of fact, the failure of crocodiles to endure the cold is the reason the American alligator has a substantially more northerly reach than its more forceful cousin, the American crocodile.
Nonetheless, Eleanor had survived despite the odds that were stacked against her.
Relocation Efforts
A salvage endeavor began once the workers were able to confirm their suspicions about the presence of a crocodile.
Laborers caught the croc and took her to a zoo close by in Paris. Eleanor was moved to an aquarium in a more remote part of France after being taken to the zoo.
New Home
After her move people started coming to Eleanor’s new home in Vannes because she was famous.
Her enclosure was designed to mimic the Paris sewers which she was accustomed to by her keepers.
Life and Death
At her biggest, Eleanor had developed to 8 feet in length and weighed 550 lbs. Additionally, when she passed away, she was probably around 40 years old.
When the Vannes aquarium shut in 2020, Eleanor was moved to a reserve in Drôme. With all the pressure of moving and her advanced age, Eleanor wound up passing on June 8th, 2021.
Presence Elsewhere
There have been certain reports of gators and crocodiles being removed from locations where they are typically not found in other cities.
In New York City, one of the most well-known examples took place. There is a rumor that alligators live in the storm drains and sewers all over the town, but this is probably not true.
New York Croc
What actually took place in 1935, on the other hand, is true. In February, the New York Times ran a story that described how a group of young men had discovered a crocodile in a sewer and had pulled it up.
The gator was sizable at 8 feet long. The likeliest reason for its presence there is that it had tumbled from a passing boat and swam into the storm drains along the shores.
Albeit far-fetched, certain groups believe that there are bigger populations of crocs living in the sewers underneath the city.
