Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies encountered a little more alligator than they bargained for while trying to remove the reptile from a backyard.
The deputies initially estimated the alligator was 4 to 5 feet long, according to body camera video shared by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
That estimate would prove to be a little off.
Deputies had responded to a report of an alligator in a backyard and were trying to encourage the reptile toward a nearby pond, the sheriff’s office said in a social media post.
“Go on,” a deputy can be heard telling the alligator in the video.
Instead, the alligator hissed, turned toward the deputy and sent him scrambling backward.
“Stay clear of it,” a deputy said.
After another noise from the alligator, the deputies reconsidered their approach.
“Yeah, this is a job for a trapper,” one said.
Deputies called a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to the home, who secured the alligator with a catch pole before dragging it from the backyard, video shows.
With the alligator secured, the trapper pulled out a tape measure and settled the question of its size.
“8-foot, 4,” the trapper announced.
The deputies immediately recognized just how much they had underestimated their backyard visitor.
“We were way off,” one said.
The sheriff’s office said the 8-foot, 4-inch alligator was relocated.
Bradenton Herald
Michael Moore Jr. is the public safety and justice reporter for the Bradenton Herald. He covers crime, courts and law enforcement. Michael grew up in Bradenton and graduated from University of South Florida St. Petersburg.