An Osceola County homeowner received a surprise introduction to Florida wildlife after discovering a small alligator in their backyard.
According to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred early in the morning on Thursday, June 18, at a property located on Settlingstone Lane. The homeowner, who is originally from “up north,” was letting their dogs outside when the alligator was spotted.
An OCSO sergeant responded to the residence to wrangle the unexpected visitor.
The sheriff’s office noted that while the alligator was young and small, it was not exactly compliant.
“Despite its size, it put up quite the attitude when [the sergeant] tried to safely secure it,” OCSO stated in a social media post on Thursday afternoon.
Following a brief struggle, which the agency playfully called a “brief reminder of who runs the neighborhood,” the sergeant was able to safely capture the reptile.
The alligator was subsequently relocated to a nearby lake where it could “continue its day without surprising anyone else.”
The sheriff’s office described the incident as “just another Florida morning where the wildlife shows up uninvited and leaves with an escort.”