{"id":557817,"date":"2026-04-01T07:57:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T07:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/557817\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T07:57:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T07:57:21","slug":"golfers-stunned-after-enormous-creature-creeps-onto-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/557817\/","title":{"rendered":"Golfers stunned after enormous creature creeps onto course"},"content":{"rendered":"

Golfers at a Kissimmee, Florida, course recently had another hazard<\/a> to contend with in addition to water, sand traps, and the deep rough.<\/p>\n

What’s happening?<\/p>\n

Golfer Shirley Schultz sent a video<\/a> to WOFL of an enormous alligator lumbering down the fairway at Stonegate Oaks. The giant creature is hard to size based on the clip, but it’s likely easily capable of overpowering a foursome, judging by context clues in the footage.<\/p>\n

Schultz told<\/a> Fox 35 that she and her husband were amazed by the gator’s presence. Fortunately, the misplaced reptile apparently wasn’t looking for a meal, as it eventually decided to soak up some sun as unaware golfers played nearby.<\/p>\n

“Look at this thing,” someone is heard saying in the clip<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why is the golf course gator important?<\/p>\n

Not every out-of-place animal is the result of our actions in their environment. Sometimes they simply get lost.<\/p>\n

But habitat destruction is making an impact. Filling in wetlands, dredging rivers, mowing fields, and cutting down trees are all ways we impact natural homes for a vast amount of creatures, according<\/a> to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).<\/p>\n

Watch now: How bad is a gas stove for your home’s indoor air quality?<\/a><\/p>\n

Earth.org added<\/a> that “animal populations worldwide have declined by 70% in just 50 years,” in large part because of habitat loss. The report cited World Wildlife Fund research.<\/p>\n

When wild animals begin mingling with human communities, ferocious attacks can result. As the creatures become familiar with our campsites and refuse as a food source, the chances of a confrontation increase because they lose instinctive fear responses, per<\/a> the BBC.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, the interaction is the result of an invasive species<\/a>, as is the case with pythons in Florida. The University of California, Berkeley, said<\/a> that snakes being released by irresponsible pet owners and those escaping their cages have led to the Sunshine State’s problem.<\/p>\n

For their part, golf courses seem to be a luxury for multiple species. Wild boars recently surprised players in Singapore, as another example.<\/p>\n

What’s being done to help?<\/p>\n

NWF has a program that can help people create and certify<\/a> a wildlife habitat. Even smaller areas set aside for birds, bees, and butterflies can have a big impact. Native pollinator plants are crucial to helping bees complete their important work, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture said<\/a> that 100 grown crops rely on pollination.<\/p>\n

Staying educated about why certain animals are turning up in unexpected places, and communicating with local politicians about the importance of saving their habitat, is a great way to leverage the power of your voice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the case of invasive species, entrepreneurs are monetizing some of them \u2014 including lionfish and silver carp \u2014\u00a0by harvesting the harmful creatures for food and leather.<\/p>\n

Join our free newsletter<\/a> for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don’t miss this cool list<\/a> of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Golfers at a Kissimmee, Florida, course recently had another hazard to contend with in addition to water, sand…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":557818,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[2808,427,15226,75626,4167,198844,148518,247519,247518,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-557817","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-florida","9":"tag-golf","10":"tag-golf-course","11":"tag-habitat-destruction","12":"tag-invasive-species","13":"tag-kissimmee","14":"tag-national-wildlife-federation","15":"tag-nwf","16":"tag-shirley-schultz","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}