Slithery Creature Prompts Speculation

There's something slithering through the waters of the French Broad River, but no one knows what it is. Jim Reynolds, an associate geology professor at Brevard College, took pictures this week of the animal. He spotted it near the end of a canoe trip from Rosman to Brevard. It has a long tail, stubby legs, scaly skin and an impressive set of teeth. Reynolds thinks it may have been a pet that got to be a bit too much for its owner.One photo published in today's Asheville Citizen-Times and Web site appears to show a 3-foot-long creature similar to an alligator, gliding toward a riverbank somewhere near Brevard. Others who have seen the reptile say it's too small to be a gator. Sid Cullipher, owner of Headwater Outfitters, believes it is a caiman, which is a member of the same biological family that is native to South America, but not to North Carolina.