North Dale Mabry Highway turned into an impromptu wildlife crossing Wednesday evening when a seven-foot alligator tried to waltz across the busy Tampa roadway, bringing traffic to a halt and pulling in both deputies and a licensed trapper for a careful removal.
Deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office worked alongside a licensed nuisance alligator trapper to secure the reptile without injury and keep drivers out of harm’s way. The sheriff’s office said the gator stretched about seven feet and was armed with roughly 80 very sharp teeth.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Team HCSO officers briefly shut down a portion of North Dale Mabry as they coordinated with the trapper to quite literally shut down the gator’s attempted crossing. The agency’s post tagged the moment with the hashtag #teamHCSO, thanked the trapper for keeping both the animal and public safe, and noted that video of the roadside encounter will appear in a future episode of Cops…