Watch: Officer wrangles growling alligator near Florida intersection
Spring means alligators – big ones, like the one you see here in this "jaw-dropping" body camera video, according to the Tampa Police Department.
Police wrangle alligator near intersection in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida, police officers wrangled an alligator near an intersection on Wednesday morning.
TAMPA, Fla. – The signs of spring are showing in Florida, and we are not talking about the blooming flowers and nesting birds.
Spring means alligators – big ones, like the one you see here in this "jaw-dropping" body camera video, according to the Tampa Police Department. One of its officers wrangled a large, growling alligator as spectators watched from the sidewalks near West Kathleen Street and North Howard Avenue early Wednesday morning.
GEORGIA BIOLOGISTS SHOCKED TO SEE ALLIGATOR ‘SMILING BACK' FROM TORTOISE HOLE
Police officers wrangled an alligator near a Tampa, Florida, intersection on the morning of March 29, Tampa Police said.
(Tampa Police Department)
Police said the alligator was taken for a ride by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to find a more suitable home.
State wildlife officials said the warmer temperatures also mean the American alligator, Florida’s state reptile, is more active and visible.
Florida has a healthy and stable alligator population, estimated at 1.3 million alligators of every size. According to the FWC, they are found in freshwater lakes, ponds, swamps and slow-moving rivers in all 67 counties in Florida.
Serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida, the FWC said. You should always keep a safe distance if you see an alligator and never feed one.