HOMESTEAD, FLA. (WSVN) - At least one alligator has been spotted swimming in a lake in Homestead close to where children and pets play, drawing safety concerns from residents at a nearby apartment complex.
Speaking with 7News on Saturday, residents of the Colony Lakes Apartments said they’re alarmed and afraid.
“Very scary,” said a resident.
Resident Jorge Alonso said he has spotted two of the large reptiles within the complex, located off East Mowry Drive.
“You couldn’t see him. He was up under the grass, and just all of a sudden, he rolled and started swimming out that way,” he said, “and then I looked over, and I see the other one sitting right over there, so that’s how I know there’s two of them.”
Some neighbors said they’re already taking precautions.
“Usually I would walk my dog around this area, but ever since there’s an alligator there, I would walk this way, like, I have to walk on that side,” said area resident Arletty Serra.
Residents are concerned the gators will attack children and prey on their pets.
“As a community, there’s a lot of kids that play next to the water, and a lot of people walk their dogs right along the water there,” said Alonso, and seeing how it came out and grabbed a duck, everybody is worried that it might do something worse, like grab a human or somebody’s dog.”
Saturday afternoon, 7News cameras captured a gator as it stealthily drifted through the water.
Residents said the property managers have already sent two letters telling them they’ve already contacted wildlife and emergency officials, and for the time being, their hands are tied.
“They were told that there’s nothing much they can do about it unless [the gators were] aggressive towards people,” said Alonso.
Just over two miles away, at the Homestead Sports Complex, Homestead Police and wildlife control officials wrangled an 11-foot gator, Thursday morning.
Trappers said the rowdy reptile gave them quite the showdown as they worked to safely secure it.
As for the residents of Colony Lakes, they said they’re hoping for a solution to this nuisance sooner rather than later.
“I understand that it costs money to send a crew of people out here to try to trap [a gator] and stuff, but it’s probably better to spend the money now than prevent some kind of disaster,” said Alonso.
As of Saturday night, residents said, the gators have not been aggressive toward people, and they’ve been keeping their distance from them.
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