A six-foot-long alligator lurked in front of a Wal-Mart located in Apopka on Sunday morning, the New York Daily News reported.
The giant gator, concerning and entertaining patrons at the same time, eventually made it's way back to the pond behind the store where it resides after an hour of lounging by Wal-Mart's entrance.
"Someone inside said, 'There's a gator at the door,'" said shopper Robin Watkins. "It was a nice size gator, just chilling."
Wal-Mart employees immediately shut the doors to prevent it from coming inside and police officers arrived to ensure that no one was hurt, staying until the gator turned back around. Additionally, authorities from the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are expected to arrive at the store to determine if the alligator was a threat to the public.
The commission, which has a nuisance alligator hotline, will assist people who report alligator citings but mainly if they are at least 4 feet in length and seem dangerous to people, pets, or property.
No one was injured during the incident.
Although alligators are commonly spotted in Florida, authorities in Vero Beach were completely unprepared when they found one in a hot tub last month.
"This is probably the first time we've ever seen an alligator in a hot tub," Indian River County Sheriff's spokesman Thomas Raulen said.
Police officers discovered the hot tub-dwelling gator while issuing a drug arrest warrant at a house in Vero Beach. A man, Tony Wells, Jr., told authorities the alligator had been there since he moved in and was feeding it chicken.
Wells was charged with posession of an alligator without a permit and officers from the commission removed it from the home.
