Stubborn alligator refused to leave Florida road during spring break, video shows
One of Florida’s alligators made a scene during spring break by stubbornly refusing to get out of traffic.
It happened Wednesday, March 23, in the Liberty area and video shows Walton County sheriff’s deputies arrived to find cars backed up and a young alligator lying in the road. Liberty is in the Florida Panhandle, west of Tallahassee.
“He looks about as happy as you are about all this traffic,” the Walton County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook. “They do love sunbathing!”
A lengthy video of the incident was posted on Facebook by Aura Home + Living, and it shows a standoff that began with one man trying to prod the alligator out of traffic.
The sheriff’s office then resorted to driving a patrol vehicle within inches of the alligator, to see if that might startle it out of the road.
Finally, someone with a shovel began pushing the alligator off the road and into a nearby wooded area. The alligator was clearly not happy, turning several times to snap at the shovel.
“Only in Florida! Headed home last night & stopped for this guy to cross the road,” Aura Home + Living wrote on Facebook.
“Pretty sure he had plans on the ‘other side’ of where they were trying to get him to go.”
A clip of video was shared March 24 by the Walton County Sheriff’s Office and has been viewed more than 116,000 times. Hundreds have reacted and commented, including a few attempts at “Why did the gator cross the road?” jokes.
“Should have brought him some marshmallows. He would have sat and rolled over,” one person wrote.
The alligator made it safely back into the woods, the sheriff’s office said.
Florida’s alligators have been known to cause traffic accidents when straying into roads in the dark.
On March 24, a Florida man was killed when his vehicle collided with an 11-foot alligator at 12:30 a.m., according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. The alligator also died, officials said.
This story was originally published March 28, 2022 at 11:22 AM with the headline "Stubborn alligator refused to leave Florida road during spring break, video shows."