Panicked Florida alligator gets trapped in traffic. Watch how people rush to help it
A young alligator took a wrong turn onto a busy Florida highway, and video of the moment is being cheered on social media for the way bystanders stepped up to help.
It happened over the weekend near the intersection of Flamingo Road and Englewood Road in Venice, when an alligator of about 4 feet eased off the curb into traffic.
Pool company owner Michael Gratz was working nearby, saw “an alligator lying in the road” and began recording as he sat in his vehicle across the street.
“Alligator crossing across a main road in southwest Florida, holding up traffic,” Gratz is heard saying.
Just then, two men are seen stepping into traffic alongside the alligator, waving at drivers in multiple lanes to slow down.
The motorists comply, coming to a stop as the young alligator suddenly becomes terror stricken and starts scrambling across lanes.
“Look at him run,” Gratz says. “That’s amazing.”
The alligator — and his escorts — are then seen safely making their way to the other side of the road, at which point the gator walks through someone’s yard and vanishes behind the home.
Gratz says multiple bodies of water are in the area, and he guesses the alligator was headed to one of them.
“I’m definitely proud of the people who stopped traffic to help him cross the road,” he told McClatchy News.
“I’ve never seen a gator like that run before and I’m sure a lot of people haven’t either.”
Gratz shared his video March 20 with the Alligators of Florida Facebook group, where it has gotten hundreds of reactions and comments — many applauding the “crossing guards” and drivers who stopped.
“Thanks for helping him cross the street. He definitely would have gotten hit,” Tammy Antonucci wrote.
“I love how people in Florida accept alligators,” Alice Mitchell posted.
“We love them here. They are our swamp kitties.” Courtney Yarbrough said.
Venice is about 80 miles south of Tampa.
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 10:41 AM with the headline "Panicked Florida alligator gets trapped in traffic. Watch how people rush to help it."