A 9-foot alligator was seen “stalking dog walkers” — until Florida deputies helped wrangle it, photos show.
“It was a quiet and large reptile, one you would never expect to see hiding in a patch of sea grapes near a popular place to walk dogs ,” the Martin County Sheriff’s Office wrote Sept. 18 on Facebook.
After determining the lurking alligator was “too close for comfort,” Sgt. Crystal Nash and Deputy Dawn Ferris stepped in. The two “fearless gator warriors” helped catch the animal before a professional trapper responded, deputies said.
Photos shared online show the gator had a rope tied to its neck and its jaw closed shut after being tracked down in Sailfish Point. The neighborhood is in the waterfront city of Stuart, a roughly 105-mile drive north from Miami
“This 9-foot gator caused concern when spotted days prior, crossing from the riverside to the beachside and concealing itself near the popular walking area,” the sheriff’s office wrote in its post. “Yesterday, the gator returned to the beachside and moved into the lanai of a community condominium.”