LURKING: Just what is lurking in the maze of sewer lines running underground?

In Florida, a team of researchers from the University of Florida found “an abundance of animals,” according to a story from UPI news service.

The team set up 39 cameras in 33 stormwater sewers in Gainesville to document what they saw.

Over 60 days, there were more than 3,800 sightings of 35 animal species.

Fifty of the sightings were alligators, which the scientists believe were using the sewer system to travel between ponds.

One of the most common sightings was of raccoons, about 1,800 of them. In some cases, the furry bandits took off with the cameras, too. Their menagerie also included bats, armadillos, possums, black rats, squirrels and 12 species of birds.

We checked with Steve Disney of Bradford Area Water Authority to find out if our local crews had any surprises while assessing the stormwater system locally. They didn’t find any alligators, but Steve said, “In terms of wildlife, the craziest thing our guys found or discovered was racoons, that gave them quite a startle one day on South Avenue.”

The website JetBlast.com offers a list of some of the strangest things reported to be found inside sewers, including false teeth, toys, gold, cannonballs, bicycles, cars or pieces of cars and in some places, like Las Vegas, there are communities of homeless people who live in the tunnels.

Drainchecker, a U.K.-based company, offered this: “Sadly, there are no Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on this list. But there is plenty of other wildlife – like the 600 lb alligator found in a Texas drain in 2006. The live sheep found wandering in a Surrey sewer … or the cow heard mooing under a manhole cover after going missing for 4 days in China.”