{"id":359510,"date":"2026-08-01T00:40:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T00:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/359510\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T00:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T00:40:08","slug":"alligator-discovered-at-central-florida-high-school-campus-deputies-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/359510\/","title":{"rendered":"Alligator discovered at Central Florida high school campus, deputies say"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 The Osceola County Sheriff\u2019s Office says deputies were called to Tohopekaliga High School on Thursday after the school\u2019s resource officer reported an alligator on campus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reel\/1047466118023839\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reel\/1047466118023839\">According to the agency<\/a>, the alligator was found in the school\u2019s baseball bullpen while the football team practiced nearby. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Community Services Sgt. Drew and responding deputies captured the animal and relocated it to a suitable habitat, the sheriff\u2019s office said, clearing the area and eliminating any risk to students, staff and school athletic programs. Officials said school activities resumed without incident.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The sheriff\u2019s office used the call as a reminder that alligators are native to Florida and can be found near any body of fresh water, including ponds, lakes, canals and retention ponds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Deputies urged parents to teach children to keep a safe distance, and to never approach, feed or provoke an alligator. The agency also warned children should not play near the water\u2019s edge without adult supervision, since alligators may be present even if they aren\u2019t visible. Pet owners are advised to keep animals leashed and away from shorelines, noting pets can attract alligators.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">If someone sees an alligator in an unsafe place, the sheriff\u2019s office says do not attempt to handle it. For immediate threats, call 911. For non-emergencies, residents can contact the sheriff\u2019s office non-emergency line at (407) 348-2222 or Osceola County Animal Services at (407) 742-8000.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 The Osceola County Sheriff\u2019s Office says deputies were called to Tohopekaliga High School on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359511,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[13925,1684,28,30,29,1976,2546,146515],"class_list":["post-359510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-alligators","tag-animals","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-osceola-county","tag-strange-florida","tag-tohopekaliga-high-school"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}