Alligator Found ‘Knocking On Doors’ In Florida Neighborhood

Authorities found an alligator “knocking on doors” in a Florida neighborhood early Friday and helped a trapper take it away.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to the Tortuga community in Fort Myers Friday morning following a call about a “suspicious” alligator.

A video shared by the sheriff’s office shows a large gator on the front porch of a home getting tangled in a folding chair and tapping on the front door.

Deputies and a trapper licensed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) could be seen in the video snaring and subduing the reptile, which appeared to be several feet long.

Thankfully he was secured and handed over to the trapper safely,” the sheriff’s office said. “How’s that for taking a BITE outta crime?

While injury or death caused by alligators is rare in Florida, there is significant human-alligator conflict. Nuisance alligators are defined as being over 4 feet long and considered a threat to people, pets or property, according to FWC.

Because healthy alligator populations exist in all available habitat in all of Floridas 67 counties, nuisance alligators are generally not relocated to the wild, where their introduction can lead to territorial fights and death, according to the FWC. Nuisance alligators typically become the trappers property to sell for hide or meat, or to sell live to a zoo or farm.