Tag: gator

Deputy responds to alligator call, reaction goes viral

A Florida sheriff’s deputy has gained notoriety because of his comical reaction during a close alligator encounter at a neighborhood pool.

A Florida sheriff’s deputy has gained notoriety because of his comical reaction during a close alligator encounter at a neighborhood pool.

“When working as a Deputy Sheriff for the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office there is never a dull moment!” the agency exclaimed Tuesday on Facebook. “Just ask Deputy Robert Santiago who earlier today responded to a call where an 8-foot alligator decided to try out the neighbor’s swimming pool!”

Santiago is standing next to Scott Swartley, a trapper contracted by the Sheriff’s Office to handle the tricky aspects of removing the angry reptile.

RELATED: Florida gator tears through metal fence with alarming ease; video

“I would love to know exactly what Deputy Santiago was thinking but I’m pretty sure it was…”Oh hell no I didn’t sign up for this!” the Sheriff’s Office continued.

More than 500 people responded to a request for captions. A sampling:

–“That’s what they call a rough day at work! We don’t appreciate our law enforcement officers enough. They never know what they’re going to face.”

–“They never showed me this in the academy.”

–“Bad gator, bad gator……whatcha gonna do? Brevard County Sheriffs are coming for you!”

–“I’m going to need to go home and change my uniform!”

–“If I stand perfectly still, he will think I’m a tree and leave me alone.”

–“He looks like he saw a box of Krispy Creme doughnuts on the guy’s patio table.”

Florida is home to 1.3 million alligators, which can be found in all 67 counties. Like many critters, they increase activity during spring.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the longest alligator recorded in Florida was a male from Lake Washington in Brevard County, measuring 14 feet, 3-1/2 inches.

The heaviest was a 1,043-pound male captured at Orange Lake in Alachua County.

Giant gator visits posh Florida town in another ‘Jurassic’ moment

Residents in an upscale Florida community paused activities Thursday to marvel at the sight of a giant alligator crossing the road.

Residents in an upscale Florida community paused activities Thursday to marvel at the sight of a giant alligator crossing the road.

“Check out this big boy crossing the street in the Forest Glen Community in Naples,” Matt Devitt of WINK Weather stated Saturday on Facebook.

On Instagram, Devitt titled the same footage,“Welcome to Jurassic Park!”

In the footage, captured by a WINK viewer named Catalina, the alligator ignores its admirers as it plods toward one of the neighborhood lawns on trash day.

It was the third time in a month that Devitt shared a clip showing an alligator grabbing the spotlight merely by appearing in public.

One showed a large gator plowing through a metal fence, almost effortlessly, to reach the other side.

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The other showed perhaps a larger gator sprawled on a golf course, gazing menacingly toward a photographer. Deviit also proclaimed that to be a “Jurassic” moment.

But alligators appearing in public places at this time of year should not come as a surprise. Florida is home to 1.3 million alligators and, like many critters, they increase activity as spring approaches.

But it’s always astonishing when the larger of these prehistoric-looking reptiles reveal themselves beyond marshes and swamps.

The longest alligator recorded in Florida was a male from Lake Washington in Brevard County, measuring 14 feet, 3-1/2 inches. The heaviest was a 1,043-pound male captured at Orange Lake in Alachua County.

–Image courtesy of WINK News

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Massive gator spotted on Florida golf course, a ‘Jurassic’ moment

An image showing a giant alligator sprawled on a Florida golf course, gazing ominously toward the photographer, is generating a buzz on social media.

An image showing a giant alligator sprawled on a Florida golf course, gazing ominously toward the photographer, is generating a buzz on social media.

According to WINK Chief Meteorologist Matt Devitt, the image was captured by Rich Louty at a Sebring golf course.

“Welcome to Florida, home to Jurassic Park,” Devitt wrote on Facebook.

The size of the alligator is unclear but for those who might wonder: The longest alligator recorded in Florida measured 14 feet, 3-1/2 inches; the weight record (involving a different gator) is 1,043 pounds.

Adult alligators prey largely on fish, snakes, small mammals, turtles, and birds, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Golfers, thankfully, aren’t on their menu.

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Devitt’s post generated 2,000 comments from residents and outsiders who were impressed by the colossal size of the reptile in the image.

“I have lived in Florida all my life. That is the biggest one I have seen,” one person wrote.

A non-resident chimed in: “I love sunny Florida, but these guys keep me from living there.”

Another top comment: “We have lived in Florida since ’89. The biggest I have ever seen was laying across a canal near a boat ramp in Debary about 20 years ago. He was a bit bigger than this one. We just turned the boat around and went the other way.”

To be sure, a gator of this size lends new meaning to the term “water hazard,” or in this case a fairway hazard to be avoided at all costs.

Reads another comment: “Well that will certainly SLOW DOWN your game.”

Deputies wrestle 11-foot alligator from Florida swimming pool

An 11-foot alligator tore through the screen of a Florida home early Tuesday to access a swimming pool, prompting a call to authorities.

An 11-foot alligator tore through the screen of a Florida home early Tuesday to access a swimming pool, prompting a call to authorities.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office shared photos via Facebook showing the 550-pound gator in the pool and being dealt with (carefully) by deputies after the reptile was removed from the water at the Deep Creek residence.

“Water Safety Month, Tip #37: Always check your pool before diving in!” The Sheriff’s Office advised.

The post continued: “A Deep Creek family was awakened by some loud noises on their lanai and came out to find this guy taking a dip in their pool. Coming in at 10’11” and weighing over 550 lbs., he tore through the screen to get to the nice, cool water.”

It was not immediately clear if the gator was relocated or euthanized.

Four Texans cited for poaching alligator in Louisiana

Four men from Texas have been cited for their suspected roles in an alligator-poaching incident Sunday in Louisiana’s Assumption Parish.

Four men from Texas have been cited for their suspected roles in an alligator-poaching incident Sunday in Louisiana’s Assumption Parish.

The Louisiana Department of Fisheries and Wildlife cited the men after responding to a complaint about an alligator carcass left at a truck stop.

Agents located the alligator and discovered a bullet hole in its head. Video footage from the truck stop implicated the four men.

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The men, cited for killing an alligator out of season, were identified as Boyd Bumbera, 23, from Brookshire; Baron Vargas, 27, and Manuel Gomez, 33, from Houston, and Jesus Fajardo, 35, from Baytown.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries stated in a news release that alligator hunting in the region does not open until the last Saturday in August.

Killing an alligator during a closed season carries fines of between $400 and $950, and up to 120 days in jail. The men might also be forced to pay civil restitution totaling $375 for the “replacement value” of the alligator.

–Alligator image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Golfers make way for massive gator in ‘Jurassic Park’ moment

A number of Florida golfers ceased play briefly over the weekend to allow a giant alligator to cross the fairway.

A number of Florida golfers ceased play briefly over the weekend to allow a giant alligator to cross the fairway.

The accompanying footage, shared to Facebook on Monday by WINK, shows the gator walking slowly across a fairway as one golfer observes that the reptile is handicapped.

“He’s missing a foot,” he says.

Matt Devitt of WINK Weather wrote on Facebook: “Check out this big boy walking across a Bonita Bay golf course this past weekend from a WINK viewer. Welcome to Jurassic Park!”

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Viewers may note that the golfers in the background, while affording the gator a wide berth, appear more interested in plotting their next shots.

Among the 300-plus comments was this from a viewer named Brandi: “I love how everyone is just going about their golf game, like there’s not a baby dinosaur walking across the course!”

A handful of comments echoed the sentiment expressed by a viewer named June: “I would give up golf for sure.”

Texas A&M pulls out of Gator Bowl; Will Big Ten get another bowl team?

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema is waiting for a phone call from the Gator Bowl to replace Texas A&M

It was probably bound to happen at some point, but a spot in a bowl game has officially opened up after Texas A&M announced it will not play in the Gator Bowl due to a surplus of players either being injured or testing positive for COVID-19. The Aggies, who were scheduled to face Wake Forest in Jacksonville on Friday, Dec. 31, were reportedly down to just 38 healthy players a little more than a week ahead of the Gator Bowl.

Wake Forest is determined to still play in the game if the Gator Bowl can find an opponent capable of filling in the vacancy so close to the bowl game. But with every bowl-eligible team are lined up for a bowl matchup this bowl season, the Gator Bowl may need to find a 5-7 team to fill in the slot.

Enter the Big Ten.

Rutgers reportedly had an invitation extended by the Gator Bowl, but the Scarlet Knights turned it down, according to Brett McMurphy of The Action Network and later confirmed by Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema was quick to make it publicly known he would be ready to answer the call from the Gator Bowl if Illinois was approached as an option.

It has been a few years since Bielema last coached in a bowl game, so you can understand his enthusiasm for getting a chance to taste the bowl season once again. Bielema last coached in a bowl game with Arkansas in the 2016 Belk Bowl, and his last bowl victory came in 2015 with the Razorbacks in the Liberty Bowl.

Bielema was just 2-4 in bowl games during his time at Wisconsin, including back-to-back losses in the Rose Bowl.

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Watch: ‘Monster’ alligator sweeps in to nab duck hunter’s prize

A Florida hunter has captured footage of a giant alligator devouring a duck that had just been shot.

A Florida hunter has captured footage of a giant alligator devouring a duck he or his partner had just shot.

“It’s not just fishing, Florida duck hunting has a tax man, too!” Cass Couey wrote on Facebook. (A sharper version of his video, posted below, was featured by Pro Hunt on Instagram.)

According to Nexstar, Couey was hunting with Kevin Stipe near Leesburg, in Central Florida, in late November, when the “monster” gator swept in for the easy meal.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIBHJ-elNLK/

In the Instagram footage, one of the hunters says, “Here we go, No. 2 of the day,” and later adds: “Alright, you’re fed, now get out of here.”

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The phrase “tax man” is often used by fishermen in reference to sharks that have ripped chunks of flesh from fish they had hooked.

At the time of this post, Couey had not responded to a request for more details.