In the UK, you might wake up to find a heron by your pond or a hedgehog in your dog bowl.
But spare a thought for a woman in Florida who woke to find a 400lb alligator in her swimming pool.
Of course, it’s quite hard to feel sympathetic towards someone who has their own pool – and lives somewhere warm enough to use one – but if you live in Florida, it’s probably wise to check your pool before jumping in.
Gators have been cropping up all over the place across the state lately, and a woman in Stone Island was stunned when she found an enormous reptile had started squatting in her pool.
Trappers from Florida Fish and Wildlife were called to the home and removed the huge beast.
They found it weighed in at more than 400lbs and was 11ft 6ins in length. So it was a big boy alright.
Homeowner Lynn Tosi told FOX 35 Orlando: “Thank goodness I didn’t open the door and let my dogs out.
“Two things – we’re getting a fence, and I’m gonna look out the windows before I walk outside now.”
She won’t need to keep an eye out for this particular gator though, as it was euthanised by officials.
According to Florida-based wildlife control company The Wildlife Whisperer, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission established the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) to address concerns regarding ‘nuisance alligators’, which are euthanised.
The company explained: “Once an alligator has become a nuisance and SNAP has deemed its removal necessary, a Nuisance Alligator Trapper will be called in to trap and remove the animal to be euthanised at a later time.
“Nuisance alligators in Florida are euthanised, rather than relocated. This is because relocated alligators usually try to return to the area where they were initially trapped, creating problems along the way and becoming more difficult to recapture.
Relocation across a great distance isn’t the answer either. The introduction of a relocated alligator would create potential issues for the alligator population already living there, including conflict and injury, introduction of disease and ecological disruption.”
Meanwhile, people in Florida are being warned to be particularly vigilant at the moment, with weather conditions meaning more of the creatures are out and about searching for food and for a mate.
People have been urged to stay at least 25 feet from the water’s edge and to avoid feeding any Florida wildlife.
Brandon Fisher, of Gatorland, told FOX 35 Orlando: “We had a really warm winter, and so alligators are starting to become a little more active, you might be seeing them popping up in stories and in places that they’re not supposed to be.”
