{"id":602536,"date":"2026-04-23T23:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T23:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/602536\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T23:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T23:38:09","slug":"massive-dinosaur-gator-spotted-on-florida-golf-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/602536\/","title":{"rendered":"Massive &#8216;dinosaur gator&#8217; spotted on Florida golf course"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>April 23, 2026, 11:33 a.m. ET<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Alligator sightings on Florida golf courses are nothing new, but some are more awe-inspiring than others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The accompanying footage shows a massive alligator strolling casually across a Jacksonville course as astonished golfers marvel at the spectacle.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" style=\"height:396px\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/89745150007-gator.jpeg\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Enormous alligator on Florida golf course.\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@rachhansonn\/video\/7630620667947322637\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">footage<\/a>, shared Monday by Rachel Hanson via TikTok, shows the gator crossing a cart path as one concerned golfer says to his playing partners, &#8220;Um, guys\u2026. UM, GUYS!&#8221; \u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><a href=\"http:\/\/ftw.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/outdoors\/2026\/04\/20\/yellowstone-coyote-can-you-spot-other-critter\/89695347007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ALSO: Yellowstone coyote has a concerned onlooker \u2013 can you see it?<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Accuweather shared the footage via Instagram under the caption: \u201cThat\u2019s his golf course now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpbf.com\/article\/florida-alligator-jacksonville-golf-course\/71101653\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WPBF News<\/a> reported that the course is inside Jacksonville Naval Air Station.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gnt_em_ig_bl\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DXaAWijkWBX\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" aria-label=\"view Instagram post: \"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Hanson\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@rachhansonn\/video\/7630620667947322637\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TikTok caption<\/a> is graphic but refers to the\u00a0reptile as &#8220;a literal dinosaur.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The top comment reads, &#8220;Nah my cart would immediately be going in the opposite direction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Hanson posted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@rachhansonn\/video\/7631406951779405069\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">second clip<\/a> showing the alligator on the move, accompanied by Jurassic Park theme music. (See clip below.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">At least one follower questioned the authenticity of the footage, but it appears to be genuine and male alligators can grow to enormous sizes. (Hanson had not responded to a request for details at the time of this post.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/myfwc.com\/wildlifehabitats\/profiles\/reptiles\/alligator\/\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission<\/a>, the state record for length is a 14-foot, 3-1\/2-inch male alligator from Lake Washington in Brevard County.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The state record for weight is a 1,043-pound male from Orange Lake in Alachua County. That gator measured 13 feet, 10-1\/2 inches.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 23, 2026, 11:33 a.m. ET Alligator sightings on Florida golf courses are nothing new, but some are&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602537,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[182817,79,191603,191604,262106,190125,186418,183419,184136,183415,191607,186701,183293,183438,186364,182820,201],"class_list":["post-602536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-accessfree","tag-science","tag-sstssportsoutdoors","tag-sstsnoutdoors","tag-tagalligators","tag-tagflorida","tag-taggolf","tag-taginstagram","tag-taglocal-affiliate-arts-entertainment","tag-taglocal-news","tag-tagoffbeat","tag-tagonline-video","tag-tagoverall-neutral","tag-tagtiktok","tag-tagwildlife","tag-typestory","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602536","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=602536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}