Forget Florida man news stories, now Florida gators are grabbing the headlines.
That’s because a massive alligator in Florida was caught on video breaking through a metal fence. In the video, which quickly went viral on Twitter, the gator could be seen pulling apart a metal fence to crawl through it to the other side.
WINK News meteorologist Matt Devitt posted the video to his Twitter account. Captioning it, he said, “FLORIDA GATOR VS METAL FENCE Check out this big guy bend the bars and plow right through it this week in Placida. He eventually got through according to the @WINKNews viewer who shot the video. Only in #Florida! @GatorsDaily”
Check out that epic tweet and video here:
FLORIDA GATOR VS METAL FENCE 🐊😳
Check out this big guy bend the bars and plow right through it this week in Placida. He eventually got through according to the @WINKNews viewer who shot the video. Only in #Florida! @GatorsDaily pic.twitter.com/3GCWtWhUnO— Matt Devitt (@MattDevittWINK) March 2, 2023
One Twitter user commented below the tweet, implying this is not an unusual thing to see in the southeast, saying, “This happened where i work, my coworker took the video. Unfortunately it was a brand new fence we just put in. We were trying to dig holes for it to go under before it decided to go thru the fence. It got stuck, but luckily we were able to guide it thru.”
Another user said, “This video is my nightmare — the same fence surrounds our pool area. I have this vision when I swim at night in SC.”
Alligators are a common sight in the state of Florida, where they are found in almost every freshwater habitat, including swamps, marshes, lakes, rivers, and canals. These large and powerful reptiles are an important part of Florida’s ecosystem, and they have a unique history and relationship with the people of the state.
The Sunshine State is home to more than 1.3 million alligators, the largest population in the United States. These reptiles can be found in all 67 counties in the state, and they are particularly abundant in the wetlands of the Everglades and other southern areas. The alligators of Florida range in size from just a few feet long to over 14 feet, and they can weigh up to 1,000 pounds. The Florida Wildlife Commission gave several tips on safety around alligators, stating:
Warm weather means Florida’s state reptile – the American alligator – is more active and visible. It’s also when people are enjoying the outdoors with their pets. To help keep people and pets safer when spending time near the water, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) offers the following advice to reduce the risk of a conflict with an alligator.
Fortunately, however, it was a gator in the video and not a crocodile. Crocodiles are the more dangerous of the two, as Everglades Holiday Park notes, saying, “To most people, alligators and crocodiles look similar. While they do share many of the same features, they couldn’t be any more different to a trained professional. Typically, crocodiles are more aggressive than alligators, which makes crocodiles more dangerous than alligators. Alligators are opportunistic feeders, meaning that they’re not likely to chase you down unless they’re provoked. However, that certainly doesn’t mean that you should swim with them. Caution and common sense should be exercised at all times near and around both alligators and crocodiles“.
Featured image credit: screenshot from embedded video
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