Local

Alligator trapped on Atlantic Blvd sidewalk

Trappers wrangled an alligator on Atlantic Boulevard on Tuesday during the evening rush hour.

Employees at Jacksonville Powersports in East Arlington near 295 spotted the gator in the parking lot.

“I was, like, is there really a gator in our parking lot? There was. So everybody – customers and all – kind of rushed outside to get their pictures for Facebook,” said Jacksonville Powersports employee Aaryn Fusco.

Fusco said the gator skittered across the parking lot and hid underneath some jet skis.

“He was just out there cooling under the jet skis. I guess he was trying to find a ride back to the water,” Fusco said.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sent out trappers, who coaxed the alligator out of the road and onto the sidewalk.

“He did that death roll that all of them do,” Fusco said.

The trappers put the six-and-a-half-foot gator in their car.

“They pulled up and put him in this little hatchback and they were completely cool with it. And on their way out, he was like, ‘Well, we got to go, guys. I’ve got seven more to go get,’” Fusco said.

FWC spokesperson Karen Parker said it’s the middle of gator-mating season.

They mate in May and June.

The female gators will lay eggs in late June and early July.

Those eggs will hatch from mid-August through early September.

But mating season is over for the gator captured outside Jacksonville Powersports.

Parker said it will be processed for its meat and hide.

Anyone who spots a gator in a place it doesn’t belong is urged to call FWC's gator hotline: 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).