April 22, 2008

OLDSMAR, Fla. –- A central Florida woman found an unexpected, unwanted guest in her kitchen late Monday night -- an eight-foot-long alligator.

Sandra Frosti, 69, says the gator pushed through the back porch screen door and then gained access to the home through an open sliding glass door. It apparently traveled through the living room, down a hall and into the kitchen.

A trapper from Animal Capture of Florida removed the alligator. No one inside the house was injured, while the gator was cut by a plate that fell during its capture.

Residents who call the state’s alligator hotline are told that gators removed from homes will be harvested or killed for its meat and hide. Residents then can rescind their request.

Some people choose to cohabitate with the gators upon learning they’re not released, according to Linda Collins of the Florida Wildlife Commission Call Center in an interview with Pet Pulse.

If harvested, caught alligators are given to trappers as payment. According to the FWC, only about 33 percent of all complaints result in the nuisance alligator being taken.

While Frosti was unharmed, the Web site, Wikipedia, reports that 13 people have been killed by alligators in the U.S. this decade. However, the University of Florida contends residents are more likely to be struck by lightening than attacked by an alligator, where 350 people since 1948 have been attacked, 19 of which were fatally injured.

To learn more about the Florida Wildlife Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program, visit myfwc.com/gators.

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