Alligators and Rats Make Big Easy Comeback

A story by Newhouse News Service told of the horror of vermin that are all over New Orleans. Alligators, too, have been seen in more backyards then ever.

"When he arrived, he found a man in a van trying to nudge a 12-foot alligator off the road. "The alligator just ripped the bumper off the van with his teeth and thew it in the middle of the road," the officer said.

The officer jumped out of his car and shooed the alligator back into the swamp next to the road.  "Then the guy gets out and  pointing to the bumper, asks me, "Can I get a police report for that?" the officer said. 'I said no, and that if he didn't get the bumper out of the street, I was gonna write him up for littering."