NEW ORLEANS -- Man-eating alligators roaming the streets of the French Quarter gobbling children and dogs?
Not really, but that's how New Orleans was described by a Scottish newspaper in a story headlined, 'Alligator terror in the streets.'
Local tourism officials just laughed at the reports Friday.
'I just can't believe that anyone would take this seriously,' said Beverly Gianna, spokeswoman for the Greater New Orleans Tourist and Convention Commission. 'People are a little more sophisticated than that.
'But just to follow up, I'm going to send agencies in Scotland a photo of the French Quarter and say 'Hey, no alligators in sight except for Izod.''
She was responding to reports by The Daily Record newspaper in Glasgow, Scotland, of ravenous reptiles in the streets of the city.
'More than 40,000 of the monstrous reptiles prowl the swamps around New Orleans ... and their favorite food is man,' the story said.
The 12-paragraph article reported attacks in which ravenous 'gators gobbled a child's hand, ripped open a boy's leg and 'wiped out the whole dog population in a suburb.'
The story said terrified residents regularly call one of the state's '40 professional alligator hunters,' who earn up to $1,300 a kill.
Louisiana has about 1,000 licensed alligator hunters, Lesage said, but residents usually call their local alligator control agent. New Orleans' police get between 10 and 20 complaints of alligators during the summer months, but attacks are rare, he said.
'They do cross the road near bayous or swamps occasionally, but we don't have a serious problem,' Lesage said.
The story's anonymous author also described 'gators grappling on major highways, 'damaging at least one car,' taking over a golf course and 'basking on a landing strip at Wesego Airport.'
There is a tiny airport in the suburb of Westwego, but officials there also chuckled at reports of 'alligator terror.'
