Gator Traps Kids in Classroom

It’s not typical for high school kids to want to stay in class after the bell, but Wednesday wasn’t an average day on Wesley Chapel’s Wiregrass Ranch campus.

It seems a rather sizeable alligator hopped out of a nearby pond and tried to invite himself in for a lesson inside one of the school’s portables. Word is the teacher was having none of it.

Rather than let the kids leave when the bell rang, school officials kept them inside the room until the gator was safely coaxed back into its pond, school district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said.

Pasco County Animal Services, Cobbe said, was also notified about the studious alligator. It’s unclear at this time if the gator will be relocated, but Cobbe reports that it’s “all normal now” on the Wesley Chapel campus.

The close encounter of the reptilian kind created quite a stir on the Pasco County School’s Facebook page.

“Silly gator, school is for kids,” wrote one fan.

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Another chimed in about nearby Land O’ Lakes High School, which happens to have a gator as a mascot: “Animal control? Somebody notify Land O’ Lakes High. Bulls got their mascot.”

“Only in Florida,” noted another fan.

Roaming alligators are fairly commonplace during Florida’s warmer months. In fact, most of the state’s cold-blooded population is also taking advantage of the nice weather to get out and explore. That includes alligators, which tend to increase their activity levels by a fair amount from the beginning of spring until about the end of October, said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Gary Morse.

“All reptiles are more active in the warmer months,” Morse said. “That’s just the cold-blooded creatures’ (way). Their metabolism increases and they do become active.”

That increase in activity can lead to an increase in encounters with humans as gators take advantage of this time of year to stretch their legs and see if the grass is greener on the other side of the pond.

Not surprisingly, the state happens to field a large amount of calls related to alligators this time of year. The calls are so many, in fact, the state has set up its own hotline to accept nuisance alligator calls. That number is 1-866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286). In 2013 alone, the state fielded 15,036 nuisance alligator calls, which resulted in the removal of 6,605 creatures.

So, what should folks do if they encounter a gator and how can they avoid running into one in the first place?

“If you see an alligator, appreciate it from a distance,” Morse recommended.

Photo courtesy of Pasco County Schools