Another alligator spotted near Valley Ridge Academy in Nocatee

For the second time this month, an alligator has been spotted near the Valley Ridge Academy in Nocatee.

The alligator approached a home and nearly bit a pet on Sunday.

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The National Park Service says the gator came from a pond across from the school and tried to walk through a nearby neighborhood.

Neighbors in Nocatee said the 4-foot gator crawled out of a retention pond and tried to bite a dog.

“We ended up calling the trapper out,” explained Jennifer Hughes. She told Action News Jax the trapper was able to remove the reptile.

The mother of two said this isn’t the first time they’ve seen a gator wandering where it shouldn’t.

She said, “A lot of people are thinking it’s probably the same one that’s been at the school that’s across the way."

On Sept. 2, parents in St. Johns County posted several videos of an alligator at Valley Ridge Academy. One video shows it walking through the grass inside the fence surrounding the kindergarten through eighth-grade school.

A trapper was dispatched, but the gator got away before the trapper got to the school.

Parents said having an alligator around a place where children are playing is a major concern.

“I know generally they’re scared of humans but you do hear stories from time to time of when they’ve actually bitten kids and attacked them,” said Hughes.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said anyone who sees a gator approaching people should contact the gator nuisance hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).

FWC officials say if you are concerned about an alligator you come across, you should call the Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).

Cox Media Group