Deputies remove 14-foot alligator from Florida neighborhood

wsbtv.com ^ | December 03, 2025 | Bob D'Angelo

[V_TWIN]

SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies in Southwest Florida had their hands full when a 14-foot, 600-pound alligator decided to rest on the doorstep of a Sarasota residence.

It took seven deputies with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office and a licensed trapper to dislodge the massive reptile and lift it onto a truck.

“This massive guest had plans to stay for the holidays, but we had other ideas,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.

The alligator was nearly a record-breaker for length, coming up a few inches short of the state’s record.

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TOPICS: Chit/Chat
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[pawpawrick]

Steve Irwin is pictured with a crocodile. They grow much larger than alligators. sometimes up to 18 feet or longer. As a devotee of Swamp People, South Louisiana gators grow to be 12 or 13 feet long.

[Chickensoup]

Is there a particular reason it wasn’t killed and removed?

[Chickensoup]

Waste of time and manpower

[V_TWIN]

See my post #12

[Chickensoup]

So some organizations paid the state workers to bring the animal to their circus?

[Mariner]

I had a contract job at the Rocketdyne facility in West Palm Beach about 10 years ago.

Our mandatory safety briefing included about 5 minutes on gators.

Of note: ALWAYS look under your car from about 10-15 feet away and don’t walk close to other cars. Gators lurk there.
And a woman lost her leg at a lunch break about 3 years prior. A man saw what was happening who had just arrived and emptied his 9mm into the gator to save her from further damage.

[Secret Agent Man]

Alligator’s lucky a boot company didn’t get there first.

[dfwgator]

[dfwgator]

After Billy Napier, the second Gator removed from Florida this year.

[Fireone]

14! Doesn’t anyone read the headlines? / s

(sorry, you set me up!)

[Fireone]

That’s a lot of Gator Bites, and they’re delicious!

[V_TWIN]

Accurate training.

A few years ago a 4 footer showed up under a car across the street from my house.

We live in a very well established neighborhood, so how the heck it got there is beyond me.

Also, last year an alligator snapping turtle appeared in my nextdoor neighbors back yard.

In Florida, you never know where a native reptile is gonna show up. Lol!

[Keyhopper]

You have to be careful with gator tail,
It’s delicious

[V_TWIN]

At that size I doubt the tail meat is any good to eat....probably be like chewing on rubber. 😏

[deport]

You have to be careful with gator tail, It’s delicious

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Gotta lot of meat there to chomp on......

[deport]

He was just waddling along singing his song......

[deport]

Alligator snapping turtles are sometimes described as dinosaur-like because of their spiky shells and primitive-looking faces. They have three pointed ridges along their shells that run from head to tail. Unlike all other species of snapping turtle, this one has eyes on the sides of its head. Alligator snapping turtle is the largest species of freshwater turtle. Males typically weigh between 155 and 175 pounds (70 and 80 kilograms). It is said that a 400-pound (180-kilogram) alligator snapping turtle was caught in Kansas in 1937, but there isn’t sufficient evidence to confirm the claim.

Alligator snapping turtles are found exclusively in the United States, from northern Florida to eastern Texas and as far north as Iowa.

[GOPJ]

You’re right - lots and lots...

[GOPJ]

I’m glad I live in Florida where we think of a 14 footer as huge...