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Intruder tears hole in screen enclosure, goes for swim in Florida family’s pool

Posted at 6:59 AM, Mar 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-03 07:02:03-05

LAKELAND, FL -- A Tampa family had their house broken into. To make matters worse, the intruder then decided to take a dip in the family swimming pool.

Laura Lear said her husband noticed bubbles in the pool. When he approached, he saw an alligator swimming inside.

Gator in pool

The nine-foot alligator lives in a nearby pool. It crawled 70 yards to the home, where it tore a hole in the pool's screen enclosure.

"It was perfect. This is how he cut it," said Lear, talking about how the alligator made its way through the screen.

Hole in screen

The family called a trapper and after putting up a fight, the alligator was removed. No one was hurt.

Lear said the alligator may have picked the family's home on purpose, since they're all animal lovers.

"I just wonder if it chose our house thinking he would fit right in," she said.