A fake alligator and a fake crocodile placed in an Arizona lake look lifelike enough to confuse residents.
The “deadly” foam reptiles have been placed into the lake in Mesa’s Riverview Park in recent months to give turtles and birds a place to rest and soak in the sunlight.
“First, we tried a dirt ramp that worked a little bit, but the turtles had trouble getting back into the water. We found one of our vendors had these foam options and they are working out well. The turtles love them,” Mesa Parks and Recreation Department Director Andrea Moore told KPHO-TV.
The foam fauna looked real enough, however, to fool locals, who have been calling 911, the Mesa Police Department told KSAZ-TV.
In addition to the gator and the croc, two foam hippos were put in the lake and anchored to the bottom, but they became unmoored, parks officials told KNXV-TV.
On Wednesday, a second pair of fake hippos were spotted in the lake to serve the same purpose. One local said that people will not be fooled by the new foam hippos.
“It’s pretty obvious that you can just look at him and go, ‘oh yeah, they’re fake’ because obviously a hippo is not going to be over here,” Mesa resident Zachary Ballor told KSAZ-TV.