Alligators are a big problem this time of year for residents in Florida.
Many of the state’s over five-million alligators find their way into crowded residential areas during the annual mating season.
And one Florida man almost lost his prized possession during this wild fight with a nine-foot alligator.
With alligators becoming a growing problem for the state’s residents, the Florida Wildlife Conservation just released a new Alligator Super Hunt permit that allows hunters to take two alligators between August 15 and December 31.
But the additional alligator hunting permits will not help residents during this year’s current mating season.
Over the past several weeks, alligators have found their way into numerous crowded residential areas and shopping centers.
Last week, an alligator showed up in the drive-through of Addition Financial Bank in Leesburg, Florida.
“Man, welcome to Florida where you go to work and casually see alligators just chillin’ at your job,” one of the bank tellers said in a video. “Welcome to Florida, man.”
On Saturday, an alligator showed up at the Starbucks drive-through in southwest Florida.
“North Port Fire Rescue had quite the surprise when we got a call about an alligator sighting at the Starbucks drive-thru!” the department wrote on Facebook. “Even on your morning coffee run, always expect the unexpected!”
The gator was roughly five feet long and appeared to mind its own business before authorities “safely relocated” it back to the wild.
But not all the alligators who make their way into crowded areas are a small five feet in length.
Last week, a nine-foot alligator made its way to Pasco County Elementary School in West Chapel, Florida.
School officials reported the gator to the Florida Fire and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Shortly after the call, a licensed alligator trapper showed up to remove the beast from the school grounds.
But the trapper made one mistake that almost left him without genitals.
“Witnesses Carolynn Jones and Mark Detrio captured video when the gator wandered onto the grounds of an elementary school in Wesley Chapel, prompting a response from a trapper contracted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,” Yahoo News reported. “The videos show the trapper attempting to sit on the gator’s back and lift its snout while his helpers hold restraints, but the reptile flails out of his grip and throws the man from its back.”
In the video, two people with ropes hold down the gator while the licensed trapper sits down on its back and tries to subdue it.
The aggressive alligator bucked so forcefully that it sent the man tumbling to his back.
The gator turned and only missed biting off the man’s private parts by a mere few inches.
Fortunately, no one was injured, and the gator was successfully relocated back into the wild.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
