Perhaps it just wanted a cheeseburger... or maybe a more substantial meal? An alligator reportedly chased customers through the parking lot of a Florida restaurant on Monday until it was wrangled and taken away by cops. The Lee County Sheriff's Office said that deputies responded to a Wendy's outlet where the six-foot alligator was chasing customers through the parking lot.
"Deputies responded to Lee Boulevard today after this six-ft gator chased pedestrians through a Wendy's parking lot," the Lee County Sheriff's Office tweeted. "He may have just been 'hangry' for a cheeseburger, but he gave many quite the scare!" the department joked.
The sheriff's office worked with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission personnel to rescue and relocate the gator.
Photos of the rescue operation were shared on Twitter. The Lehigh Acres Fire Department also shared footage of the gator from across the street. It shows the reptile wandering through the parking lot of a rehabilitation centre.
That the incident took place in Florida - a state that sees more human-gator interaction than perhaps any other in the US - did not come as a surprise to Twitter users. Florida is home to around 1.25 million alligators and they are frequently spotted at golf courses, swamps and other open spaces.
Twitter users thanked cops for relocating the alligator and remarked that the incident was typical of the sunshine state. "This is Florida every day," wrote one Twitter user.
"Laughs in Floridian," another quipped.
According to the New York Post, wildlife officials said the animal was probably trying to get from one water body to the other when its path cut across the Wendy's parking lot. It was trapped and relocated to a farm in LaBelle.
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