Later, gator: Reptile rescued on LIE

Call it Long Island's version of "Alligator Alley."

A gator, about 21/2 feet long, was spotted Monday on the eastbound shoulder of the Long Island Expressway between Exit 68 in East Yaphank and Exit 69 in Wading River.

Unfazed, Suffolk County sheriff deputies responded to the 911 call from a passing motorist and corralled the young alligator shortly after 9 a.m., Chief Michael Sharkey said.

"Our guys used a couple of milk crates to contain it until [the SPCA] got there," Sharkey said. "They didn't want to get bit, but they didn't want to let it wander out into the road, either."

He said the deputies turned over the gator, probably a pet that escaped or was released, to the Suffolk SPCA.

"I would say it's unusual," Sharkey said. "It's not native to the area. The Suffolk County SPCA says people usually get them as pets, then when they get a little too big, they get rid of them."

Chief Roy Gross of the Suffolk SPCA said that a $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction for animal cruelty of those responsible for abandoning the alligator on the side of the road.

SEE PHOTOSAnimals on the loose on LI, in NY