‘We saw this big head,’ then the rest. Alligator joins South Florida couple for breakfast
Guess who’s coming to dinner? Rather, breakfast.
A South Florida couple sitting down for their first meal of the day was shocked to see a large alligator in the backyard Saturday morning.
“We were just eating breakfast, and we saw this big head that looked like a gator, and then it just walked by the window,” Trent Mermelstein of Davie told Local 10. I thought it was just my imagination.”
It wasn’t his imagination.
The gator, spotted outside their house in the Orangewood Estates neighborhood, was very real.
The Mermelsteins decided to call the cops.
“We’re assuming it came from the pond up there, but our gate was open because it is broken,” Tina Mermelstein told the outlet.
Two trappers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission arrived and removed the gator.
Due to the animal’s size and alarming proximity to the general population, it was considered a nuisance alligator.
“Generally, an alligator is deemed a nuisance if it is at least four feet in length and the caller believes it poses a threat to people, pets or property,” says the the FWC website.
“The FWC places the highest priority on public safety and administers a Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP). The goal of SNAP is to proactively address alligator threats in developed areas, while conserving alligators in areas where they naturally occur.”
A neighbor of the couple complimented the two on Facebook for staying so calm during the incident with the predator.
“Wow!” said the post. “Good wrangling!!
People who spot alligators in their midst should call this toll-free hotline, 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).
READ MORE: Who’s knocking on the door? Cops had an ‘animal problem’
This story was originally published May 16, 2022 at 3:16 PM.
