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Seven Deputies and a Trapper Remove 14-Foot Alligator Blocking Sarasota Road

Florida's thriving alligator population makes relocations from neighborhoods a routine safety response.

Overview

  • Sarasota County Sheriff's Office video shows seven deputies and a licensed trapper hoisting the 600-pound alligator into a pickup after securing its jaws.
  • The reptile had been obstructing a residential roadway near a home before authorities cleared the scene.
  • The sheriff's office said the animal was transported to an alligator farm and released there.
  • A moment in the footage shows the gator's tail striking a deputy during the lift.
  • Florida has an estimated 1.3 million alligators statewide, and the state’s Nuisance Alligator Program handles removals when reptiles threaten people, pets or property.