A gator on the loose in central Pa.? No worries. He's safe after a swim in the Susquehanna.

Oscar the alligator got loose.

His owner, Tyler Hake, suspects that someone - maybe kids - let him out of his pen behind his house. Oscar had lived in the pen for about three years and had never gotten loose before, Hake said.

Hake's home is a stone's throw from the Susquehanna River in Wrightsville, maybe 100 feet from the river's west bank. And that's where Oscar went, gators, by nature, being attracted to water.

It's believed that Oscar, who is about 3 feet long, got out sometime Thursday and was spotted Friday morning in the river, a sighting that was then reported to the borough. Borough Council President Eric White said a search was initiated, and Hake, who was out of town for work, was contacted. 

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Hake, 25, is a biologist who works with reptiles and was in western Pennsylvania conducting a survey. He has had Oscar since he was about 16. A guy he knew had the reptile and didn't want him anymore, so Hake took Oscar in. "I've always been into reptiles," Hake said. "When I was a kid, I thought it was a good idea. It was something I always wanted to have."

Friday morning, Hake and a crew from the borough walked the river bank from Route 462 to Route 30 and north - Hake's home is between the two highways, and he didn't think Oscar would ramble very far.

After a few sightings near a boat ramp, one member of the search team spotted Oscar in the river, pretty much in front of Hake's home. "He didn't go very far," Hake said.

Hake got into the water and swam, stealthily, to Oscar, keeping just his eyes above the water's surface so he wouldn't spook the gator. "He knows me," Hake said. "But I didn't want him to go under."

As he approached the reptile, Oscar ducked under the surface. Hake was able to leap atop him and get hold of him. The reptile and Hake were uninjured. 

Oscar was returned home, safe and sound. 

Hake was appreciative of the police department and borough workers for their assistance. "They were super helpful," he said.

White, who noted that borough ordinances prohibit pet pigs but allow alligators, said, "We got good people here in Wrightsville. We care about all the animals."

Columnist/reporter Mike Argento has been a Daily Record staffer since 1982. Reach him at 717-771-2046 or at mike@ydr.com.