[Racerbvd]

Bummer, I hate it when one of these guys die

Large gator searches for a mate only to end up dead in south Lee County
CRISTELA GUERRA and MARK S. KRZOS • cguerra@news-press.com mkrzos@news-press.com • April 8, 2010

Crawling from a drainage swale Thursday was one of Florida’s most eligible bachelors.


An adult male alligator took to the streets of south Lee County, in rush-hour traffic. It was probably looking for a mate, authorities surmise.



Turns out the reptilian Romeo was looking for love in all the wrong places.


By the time nuisance gator trapper Tracy Hansen could reach the scene, a Lee County sheriff’s deputy had shot the reptile dead.


“This is the time of year when gators are becoming active,” said Lt. Gary Morse, spokesman with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “They’re looking for new territories and new places to feed, as well as mates.”


The incursion, which began near the parking lot of Tires Plus on U.S. 41 just south of Gladiolus Drive, started around 4:30 p.m.


At about 9 feet, 4 inches, this was “a good-size gator,” Hansen said.


Ron Sapaugh, manager of the tire store, said the sighting ranks up there with the crazy things he’s seen in his life.


“He came out of nowhere,” Sapaugh said. “The Hendry Creek runs behind our building, but it’s pretty far back there.”


With curious crowds gathering in parking lots, the gator began zigzagging between Tires Plus and The Salvation Army building.


A Lee County detective was flagged down by one of Sapaugh’s employees and soon, deputies arrived. That, Sapaugh said, is when the alligator decided to cross U.S. 41.


Deputies scrambled to close the six-lane highway in both directions as the gator made its way onto the road.


“He got about halfway across the southbound lanes and just stopped,” Sapaugh said. “It looked like he was tired. Then he got up and walked into the median and stopped again.”


After a minute or two, the alligator again attempted to cross U.S. 41. As the gator moseyed across the northbound lanes, keeping traffic at a standstill, spectators gathered in the parking lot of BMW of Fort Myers.


In the end, surrounded by deputies in a drainage ditch between U.S. 41 and the BMW dealership, the alligator started acting aggressively and hissing, said John Sheehan, spokesman for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.


“When it started crawling up an embankment toward people, it became a public safety issue,” Sheehan said.


“We didn’t want to shoot it,” he said. “There was only so much we could do. It became a threat. It was a last resort.”