Real or fake? Must-see video of giant gator on Florida golf course sparks debate

PALMETTO, Fla. — A video of a giant gator wandering a Florida golf course has gone viral – and has ignited an online debate in the process.

According to Golf.com, Charlie Helms, 56, recently spotted the enormous reptile at Buffalo Creek Golf Course in Palmetto and began filming.



>> Click here to watch the viral video

"This alligator was so large he would only move slowly, about 100 feet at a time, before having to lie down and rest," Helms told Golf.com.

Helms, who posted the clip to Facebook on Wednesday, said he initially didn't believe what he was seeing, WFTS reports.

"I didn't know if we were being punked or something," Helms told WFTS.

>> REAL OR FAKE? Weigh in with our poll

"I've heard of this golf course but this video looks a little off," YouTube user Kuyozi wrote. "The way the gator moves looks like a loop, and the shadow isn't consistent with the camera man."

>> PHOTOS: 25 ways Florida could kill you

"Why so many likes? People are gullible idiots I guess," added user Jotaro Kujo.

For what it's worth, a golf course employee told KSNV that the big guy is real – and a longtime resident of the course.

"He has been here for a very, very long time; he's not new at all," said Wendy Schofield, a clerk at the golf course's pro shop. "There have been guesses that he's 15 to 16 feet long."

She added, "He doesn't bother anybody and they don't bother him. He's like a mascot for the course."

Read more here or here.

Cox Media Group