Alligator at the door: Neighbors in The Villages find big reptile

Animal relocated by trapper

THE VILLAGES, Fla. – Florida’s favorite reptiles are on the move and showing up in people’s yards and at their front doors.

In The Villages, one woman caught the wild moments last week when an alligator was captured after it was found lounging at someone’s door.

The woman told News 6 the homeowner was alerted by a fellow neighbor who just so happened to be out walking her dog at the time.

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People in the neighborhood said they had seen the alligator roaming around before.

The video in the media player above shows the moments a couple of trappers from Florida Fish and Wildlife’s Nuisance Alligator program take the alligator in. The trappers said the reptile was likely trying to find a new home after being kicked out of a pond by an even bigger, more territorial alligator.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, alligator courtship begins in early April with mating season beginning in May or June. Females will build a mound nest of soil, vegetation or debris and lay an average of 32 to 46 eggs in late June or early July. The eggs will then hatch between mid-August and early September.

During this time of the year, wildlife experts said Floridians might see alligators on the move and even in rare places.

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