Florida is known for its alligators, but not all gators are built the same.
Take Fabio, for instance.
When Ken Bergquist started going to the Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland in the middle of 2022, he caught glimpses of the notorious gator.
Bergquist saw Fabio, named by the locals, lying on the trail every now and then, he told McClatchy News in a Facebook message, but it remained motionless, soaking in the sun.
He goes to the reserve two or three times per week, he said, but it wasn’t until Feb. 3 that he saw the gator in action.
“We had watched him swimming from farther out from shore coming towards the trail for 30 to 45 minutes before he found the spot he apparently wanted to cross,” Bergquist said. “He was very quiet coming out of the water, we knew where he was from watching him.”
Approaching the path, the gator pulled itself out of the water, lifting an enormous body, and slowly strutted across the reserve path, a video taken by Bergquist shows.
“He’s definitely 12 feet long, possibly a few inches more,” Bergquist said. “I’ve seen many cross trails, but never a really huge one. I was in awe.”