Gator Finds Himself in Hot Water After Dip in Condo’s Pool
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SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. — Residents at the Sandal Cove condominiums called him “Little Al,” an 8-foot alligator that for years was spotted lying around the grassy commons.
He never harmed anyone, and he was regarded as something of a pet. But when Little Al decided to swim in the condo pool, the state sent a trapper Thursday to take him away to be destroyed.
“There wasn’t a dry eye,” said Jane Hogan, a six-year resident at Sandal Cove.
Residents tried for hours to coax him out of the pool.
“He was going back and forth, enjoying himself to the hilt,” said Jerry Clunman. “I almost gave him a towel.”
They got him out, but by then someone had called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and a trapper was on his way.
State policy requires trappers to destroy alligators they catch, said Sharon Griffis, a wildlife officer.
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