NewsOffbeat

Actions

Gator flips out while being dragged from Florida swimming pool

Posted at 7:16 PM, May 30, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-30 19:16:42-04

SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — Look before you leap. It’s an old saying that may have helped keep a Florida family safe this Memorial Day after a large alligator took up residence in their swimming pool.

Sarasota County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a Venice, Florida, home Monday to help relocate the uninvited guest, which was measured at 7 to 8 feet long.

Gators in Florida swimming pools are not uncommon. But this one was captured on video thrashing and rolling about as a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trapper attempted to drag the critter out of the water.

A 7-8 foot gator was found at the bottom of a family’s pool in Sarasota County Monday morning. (Photo: Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook)

After the trapper slipped a noose over the gator’s head and dragged it toward the pool’s steps, the animal went beserk, rolling more than a dozen times and snapping its jaws.

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office posted video of the tricky removal to Facebook along with the caption, “Because no two days on patrol are ever the same… #OnlyInFlorida #MemorialDayInTheSunshineState #DeathRoll #LookBeforeYouLeap.”

The gator was eventually dragged out of the pool without incident and was to be relocated to a safer and more “appropriate” location, the Sheriff’s Office said.

(Photo: Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook)