ENGLEWOOD, Fla. (WFLA) — A small alligator put up a big fight on Wednesday when a deputy showed up to wrangle it away from a Sarasota County home.
Neighbors in the Pine Lake area of Englewood say deputies were called to a home for an “intruder” at the front door. Video taken by Kristy Rumpf shows the small gator outside the home tangling with a deputy who tried to shoo it away with a stick.
Other deputies and neighbors watched as the woman prodded at the alligator to get it away from the residence. One of the deputies at the scene is heard on video joking that, “They’re hard to get handcuffs on.”
Video shows the deputy was able to get the gator away from the home, but the animal then decided to stop in the grass again. It put up another fight, biting down on the stick and rolling over several times.
“It’s feisty!” one witness said in the background.
Once the gator had bitten down on the stick, the deputy was able to drag it farther from the home before it stopped and had to be guided away again.
“They got it successfully back to the lake but [it] sure put up a fight!” Rumpf told WFLA. “It was a riot to watch.”
Alligator mating season is currently in full swing in Florida, which can lead to an increase in alligator activity.