HOMESTEAD, FLA. (WSVN) - There was a reptile roundup in a South Florida neighborhood featuring an angry alligator that did not go down without a fight.
A resident spotted the massive gator while he was exercising early at the Homestead Sports Complex, Thursday morning.
The 11-foot long reptile was hanging around on the property.
Homestead Police quickly brought in wildlife control to assist in capturing the gator.
“We responded, and sure enough, we found this 11-foot gator with a pretty bad disposition in the middle of the road,” said Todd Hardwick, Pesky Critters Wildlife Control.
The massive reptile was intent on giving the trappers all they could handle as they worked to safely secure it.
“During the capture, he gave us quite a battle,” Hardwick said. “He’d been resting on the pavement. At night, these alligators will lay on the warm street, and they actually fall asleep until a vehicle or somebody comes along, so he was well rested by the time we showed up.”
After more than 20 minutes, the gator was secured.
The team at Pesky Critters Wildlife Control brought it back to their farm and kept its powerful jaws shut with a roll of hot pink tape.
This gator turned out to be one of the biggest the team had seen in that area of South Florida.
“This is actually the largest alligator that we’ve removed from South Dade County in the past two years,” Hardwick said.
Pesky Critters said one of two things will happened to the gator.
They hope to find a place where they can send it so it can live out its life in captivity.
If they cannot find a location, due to its size, and because it was found roaming close to the public, the gator will be humanely put down.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.