The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office shared the clip on its Facebook page, where it received more than 300,000 views.
Tammy Sapp, a communications and marketing manager with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), told Newsweek in an email there are more than one million alligators in all counties of Florida.
“Serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida,” she said. “FWC places the highest priority on public safety and administers a Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP).”
This program seeks to address alligator threats in developed areas, while conserving gators in their indigenous sites.
If someone sees an alligator, they are encouraged to keep a safe distance. Pets should also be kept on a leash and away from the water’s edge, as they may resemble prey.
The video shows a large alligator slowly ambling through a yard before it lays down.
“Walking our pet alligator this morning,” the person taking the video said.
Eventually, the gator made its way to a lake where it slipped in and presumably swam off.
“We’re guessing he was about 10 feet in length and boy, did he take his time making it back to the lake he came from,” the video caption read. “We can’t blame him just thinking about how heavy that tail must be.”
Sapp said that while officials reached out to FWC, the alligator returned to the water and the sheriff’s office withdrew its request for assistance.
Kaitlyn Perez, the department’s community affairs director, told Newsweek in an email that she learned deputies responded to a call involving the gator.
“What’s funny is while this seems unusual, it’s actually pretty common for Floridians and Florida law enforcement officers,” she said, noting that she knew the video would gain traction after it was shared. “It doesn’t matter where you are in the country, Florida wildlife is always fun to watch.”
As Perez pointed out, it is not uncommon for people to come across alligators in Florida.
Newsweek previously reported that a 13-foot alligator was spotted walking through a man’s backyard on a surveillance camera.
One man was installing window blinds in a new home when he came across a gator in the master bedroom. Alligator trappers were requested to help remove it from the house.
A woman shared a video on Facebook showing an alligator that was walking through an apartment complex after she nearly ran into it while she was out walking her dog.
