FL Deputy With Cowboy Hat In Hand Wrangles Large Gator

POLK COUNTY, FL — The Polk County Sheriff’s Office shared a photo on Sunday of a deputy detaining an unusual suspect: a large gator.

Deputy Angulo was pictured sitting on the gator’s back, as though it was a horse, while holding its snout closed with one hand and a cowboy hat in the other.

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The image was snapped while he waited for an alligator trapper licensed by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission to arrive.

The sheriff’s office didn’t share the location where the gator was wrangled or its size.

The wrangling came well into gator mating season in Florida.

Courtship begins in April, followed by peak mating activity in May and June, FWC said.

The FWC also offers the following tips for safely co-existing with alligators:

• Keep a safe distance if you see an alligator and never feed them.
• Swim only in designated areas during daylight hours. Gators are most active between dusk and dawn.
• Keep pets on a leash and away from the water’s edge. Never let them swim in fresh or brackish water.

Those who believe a gator poses a threat to people, pets or property can call the FWC’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR. The agency will dispatch a contracted nuisance alligator trapper to the area.

See Also:

• FL Man Bitten By 8-Foot Gator While Trying To Save His Dog
• Alligator Attack On Cow Prompts Closure Of Central FL Conservation Area
• 2 Gators Removed In Tampa As Mating Season Starts In FL