As a kid, you might have had the completely irrational fear that a shark might be lurking in the deep end of the pool. Despite knowing that sharks cannot live in chlorinated water, children everywhere are still convinced a shark might walk off the beach and hop into the pool.
Now you can tell kids what they should actually be scared of (if you live in a tropical state,) is pool gators!
A family in Florida had an unwelcome visitor on Memorial Day when their pool cleaner found an alligator in the deep end of the pool. (Always look before you leap!)
A video was shared by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office shows the gator putting up quite the fight. The male gator measured just under 8 feet long and used several sets of “death rolls” in an attempt to escape and pull in his captor.
If you listen carefully you can hear a man say, “Can he pull you in?” and another man (assumed to be the captor) replies, “Oh yeah, he can easily pull you in!” The jaw muscles of an alligator alone has a force of about 300 lbs per square inch and can total to over 2,000 lbf. While it’s NOT a regular part of a gators diet, they do have the ability to kill wild boars by dragging them into the water. Needless to say, one person would be a light load.
The sheriff’s department said this in a Facebook statement: “Let this be a reminder that it’s mating season in Florida and these creatures, especially the females, are on the move looking for areas to lay eggs.” They will be actively seeking out “safe” bodies of water to make their nests! This can include anything from ponds, swamps, marshes, large puddles in grass and even pools. “With that said, it’s probably safe to assume that any body of water, regardless of what kind, may be enticing to this kind of reptile,” according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Department.
The gator has been safely relocated to a more appropriate location.
Don’t let this create a gator-phobia in you. Alligators are not naturally aggressive to humans. In fact, they aren’t even thinking about eating you at first sight. Too much bone, not enough meat. It’s doubtful they’d bother pursuing you unless you do something perceived as a threat. Don’t make fast movements, don’t throw anything at the gator and don’t try to take a picture with it (Yes, this has happened. Yes they lost their hand because of it.) and you should be fine! Alligators are predators of opportunity and are known for being picky eaters.
