A 10-foot alligator found its way onto a Florida highway Monday evening, causing an hour-long traffic delay.
Pesky Critters Wildlife Control responded to the scene to capture and safely relocate the massive reptile, Newsweek reported. The alligator allegedly had to climb several barriers, push through a chain-link fence and climb over the barrier that separates the flow of traffic. (RELATED: Herd Of Cattle Attacks Colorado Jogger On Morning Run)
“Once [people are] on ‘the stretch’ there are very few emergency turn arounds, so they were stuck while we battled this gator,” a spokesperson for Pesky Critters told Newsweek. “There is only one other route off of the Keys [and] a lot of tourists wouldn’t know about the alternate route.”
Bodycam footage shows the alligator lunging at the two trappers and rolling around. “Traffic was backed up for over an hour as police officers secured the area so our trappers could remove the gator,” Pesky Critters said in a Facebook post.
“Alligators are native to Florida, so anywhere that you have freshwater, you have a high likelihood of encountering an alligator, so whether that’s a lake, a canal, a pond, a river,” George Reynaud, an officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission told NBC News.
@flanative88 Alligator stopping rush hour traffic #florida #onlyinflorida #fyp #nature #wildlife #tampa #alligator #alligatorsoftiktok #traffic ♬ original sound – FlaNative88
Weeks earlier, another Florida alligator delayed traffic for nearly 10 minutes, reported WTSP. Video shows the alligator walking across an intersection on its way to a large lake.
“I was speechless when I saw such a large alligator just casually strolling across the street,” an onlooker told WTSP. “It was unreal to say the least.”