Possible alligator spied in Pierce Lake

Two fisherman believe they saw an alligator in the Franklin Pierce Pond in Antrim at about noontime on Sunday. Ray Grimard, 80, and his son Richard, 50, were fishing off the hydro-plant platform when he said he saw the creature.
“We were fishing off the walkway hooked off the building. I was sitting down and my son was at the end of the walkway. I looked up and saw something coming, and then sun hit and I said, That’s an alligator,” Ray recalled. “We got a beautiful look at it. It was a pretty color. It must have been three to four feet long. I figured it was somebody’s pet and they let it go because it was getting too big.”
His son Richard said they got “a good twenty-second” look at it.
“He was staring right at us ... it poked its head above the water,” said Richard. “I mean its whole head. I could see the whole tail wiggling. He’s about a four-footer.”
“He’s going to eat all my fish,” Ray complained.
Although the Grimards are convinced of what they saw, Fish and Game Conservation Officer Dave Walsh is not so sure. He spent an hour at the lake on Monday looking for any signs of the creature, but found nothing.
“I’m not convinced this is an alligator. He said when it swam it used its front legs, but alligators don’t swim with their front legs,” Walsh said of Ray’s description. “No one else has seen it. The temperature in the lake is 68 degrees, and an alligator would want to get in the sun. At 68 degrees it would be pretty lethargic and it would need to get up on the rocks and warm itself. I don’t want to call Ray not credible, because he’s a knowledgeable guy, but who knows?”
“The tail was wiggling like an alligator,” Richard explained. “Now, if it’s not an alligator, I’d be scared. I’m pretty sure it’s an alligator. It had a big head, big eyes. I’m 99-percent sure it was an alligator.”
Although somewhat rare, alligators have appeared in New Hampshire’s bodies of water before. Walsh said the last time occured two years ago in Hinsdale. That alligator was rescued and moved to a reptile rescue operation. To contact Fish and Game, call 271-2501.