A south Fort Myers neighborhood had an unwelcome visitor May 9.
A large alligator appeared on a doorstep in the Tortuga community, seemingly trying to find a way to get inside, a video of the encounter shows.
“Knock knock! Your visitor is chomping at the bit to come in!!,” a post on the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page reads.
“Our 3rd precinct deputies responded to a call this morning of a suspicious…. Gator knocking on doors within the Tortuga community. Thankfully, he was secured and handed over to the trapper safely. Hows that for taking a BITE outta crime.”
The video shows the scaly visitor approach the door, then push a folding chair from the porch against it, as if to knock.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife alligator trapper captured the gator with the help of deputies and removed it from the community off Gladiolus Drive.
It’s just the latest wildlife encounter in Florida this week. Two others ended in fatalities. A man and his dog were killed in a bear attack in Southwest Florida on May 5. One day later, a woman was killed by an alligator while canoeing on Lake Kissimmee.
Additionally, a Southwest Florida man was injured when a bison gored him in Yellowstone National Park on May 4.
Alligators in Florida
Alligators are found in all 67 Florida counties, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife and, along with the American crocodile, one of two crocodilians native to Florida.
FWC says female alligators rarely exceed 10 feet in length, but males can grow much larger. The Florida state record for length is a 14-foot 3 1/2-inch male from Lake Washington in Brevard County. The Florida record for weight is a 1,043 pound, 13-foot 10-1/2-inches male from Orange Lake in Alachua County.
Can you shoot an alligator in your yard in Florida?
It’s unlawful to shoot an alligator without a permit.
According to Florida law, it’s a felony to “intentionally kill, injure, possess or capture, or attempt to kill, injure, possess or capture an alligator or other crocodilian, or the eggs of an alligator or other crocodilian, unless authorized by rules of the commission.”
Alligator safety tips
If you’re concerned about a gator, call FWC’s nuisance alligator hotline at 855-FWC-Gator (866-392-4286) and follow these rules to safely co-exist with alligators:
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Large alligator found on Southwest Florida doorstep ‘chomping at the bit to come in’
Reporting by Kim Luciani, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
