They thought it was a burglar knocking on their door. Turns out it was an alligator

Alligators might be getting smarter — instead of waiting for people in lakes and swamps, they’re now coming up to your front door.

A Tampa family thought a burglar was trying to get into their home when they heard knocking at 4 a.m. Friday. But it turned out to be an alligator.

“I came out this morning; my mom woke me up out of my sleep. It sounded like someone was trying to break into our house, our door; like someone was hitting the handle. She looked out the peephole and all she saw was police,” Dyaniqua Lillie told Fox 13 Tampa. “Come to find out, it’s a 5-foot gator in front of our door.”

Law enforcement caught the gator and returned it to the wild.

It’s far from the first incident when a gator thought to check out the neighbors. Just two weeks ago, a South Carolina family had a gator knock on their door and even reach for the doorbell.

Danielle Barkley, who lives near the home, said alligators have visited the neighborhood before and last year she saw one on the front porch of another neighbor’s house. But she said that was the first time one seemed to reach for the doorbell.

That alligator hung around for about an hour and then lumbered away on its own.

This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 9:45 AM with the headline "They thought it was a burglar knocking on their door. Turns out it was an alligator."