Massive 12ft, 600lb alligator is captured outside a Florida mall: Footage shows moment SIX people haul the beast onto a truck as it’s moved to a safer area
- A 10-foot, 600-pound alligator was captured outside a shopping center in Estero, Florida
- At least six officers helped lift the enormous alligator and carry it into a truck
- The state is home to an estimated 1.3 million alligators
A huge alligator measuring over 11 feet and weighing 1,300 pounds was found and captured outside a Florida shopping center on Thursday, leaving local vacationers shocked.
Officers removed the massive beast from the entrance of Coconut Point Mall in Estero, Florida, on Thursday afternoon.
Video showed at least six officers lifting the enormous alligator and carrying it into the back of a truck.
“There really is never a dull moment on patrol here in Lee County, huh?” the Lee County Sheriff's Office wrote alongside the video.
The captured alligator, which measured 11 feet in length, was moved alive to Townsend & Sons Everglades Outfitters, a ranch about 40 miles away in LaBelle, Florida. as reported by Miami Herald.
A huge alligator measuring over 11 feet and weighing 1,300 pounds was found and captured outside a Florida mall on Thursday, leaving local vacationers shocked
Video showed at least six officers lifting the massive alligator and carrying it into the back of a truck
Three officers happily posed with the enormous alligator at a retention pond, a common alligator habitat in Florida
In a photo shared by the sheriff's office, three deputies were seen posing with the enormous alligator near a stormwater retention pond, a common habitat for alligators in Florida.
“Just now, Sergeant Toslluku, Deputy Cevertus and Deputy Roedding were called to a 10-foot-long, six-hundred-pound alligator at Coconut Point Mall,” the sheriff's office wrote.
Officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also responded jointly to the scene, authorities said.
Officers were shocked to see the predator weighing a whopping 600 pounds.
“If you're excited to join law enforcement, we promise excitement and great training here at #TeamLCSO,” they wrote.
The alligator's presence at the mall has sparked an overwhelming response from social media users.
Officers removed the massive beast from the entrance of Coconut Point Mall in Estero, Florida, on Thursday afternoon
The alligator's presence at the mall has sparked an overwhelming response from social media users
The enormous alligator, measuring over 3 meters and weighing 600 kilos, left social media users shocked
One shocked user wrote in a comment: 'What did he eat in that pond that he could grow so big!!!'
“The poor thing, it just wanted to host a tourist for Christmas dinner,” someone else said jokingly.
Florida is home to an estimated 1.3 million alligators, as state officials advise residents and tourists not to harass or feed them.
From 1948 to 2021, there have been 442 unprovoked biting incidents in Florida, 26 of which resulted in fatalities.
Over the past decade, Florida has averaged eight unprovoked bites per year that are serious enough to require professional medical treatment, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says on its website.
“The chance of a Florida resident being seriously injured in an unprovoked alligator incident in Florida is roughly only one in 3.1 million,” the report said.