A golf course in Florida was the center of attention these past few days as a behemoth alligator was caught on video taking a stroll there.
Social media went crazy with how massive the alligator was, even talking about how it looked like it was straight out of Jurassic Park. But gator experts said that the sighting was nothing out of the ordinary.
Massive alligator caught on video
The mammoth "mutant" was spotted at Valencia Golf & Country Club in Naples on November 11 as Tropical Storm Eta bore down on the Sunshine State.
The gator's massive tail was swinging, and its walk while strolling at the country club sparked questions over whether it was real or if it was edited.
John Brueggen, the director at St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, told Huffington Post that the alligator that was spotted this week was real.
He added that not many people get to see an alligators' high walk. There was nothing unusual about the alligator on the video, he said.
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Brandon Fisher, a gator expert, told New York Post that the creature was legit despite its unusual gait, which happens when they stand up with full legs spread out completely.
Fisher estimated that the gator was nine or 10 feet long, which is very big for a golf course gator. He said that adult alligators, especially those getting up to the nine to 10 feet range and above, have legs that are about a foot and a half to two feet long. So when they stand up and do a high walk, they are going to look tall.
Meanwhile, Dave Steen from the Fish and Wildlife Research Institue in Florida told HuffPost that the gator's appearance might appear surprising with no context.
The reptile and amphibian expert said that some people might have a distorted sense of scale when looking at the video. The alligator may seem larger than it is. Many people also are not used to seeing an alligator just strolling out in the open.
Steen added that there was nothing unusual about the alligator captured in the video. It was just a good-sized alligator that was out for a stroll.
Alligator fatalities
Since 1997, there are a total of 16 people that were killed in alligator attacks in Florida. One attack that made headlines was the death of a two-year-old boy from Nebraska in 2016. The boy was attacked and dragged by an alligator in a lake at the Walt Disney World.
In March 1997, an 11-foot alligator was discovered swimming protectively near the body of three-year-old Adam Binford in a lake in Volusia County. The boy was picking water lilies for his mother when he was attacked by the 450-pound alligator. The alligator was later killed.
In May 2001, the chewed-up body of 70-year-old Samuel Wetmore was found floating in a Sarasota County retention pond. An 8-foot alligator killed him. Wetmore suffered from dementia, and he was believed to have wandered away from home.
In November 2005, Brevard County deputies determined that 22-year-old Matthew Riggins was killed by an alligator in Barefoot Bay lake while hiding to avoid the police. Divers recovered his body with injuries consistent with an alligator attack. He was discovered nine days after his girlfriend reported him missing.
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