My wife grew up in Florida and we have a lot of family in the state. So we are frequent visitors. When we're there, it's not unusual to spot gators here and there, even in my in-laws' neighborhood. I don't mind. I've always liked gators, and my wife does, too.
BUT, it turns out that Florida residents have to especially wary of alligators in May. That's apparently when gator mating season starts. Yep - it's similar to when Iowans have to be especially aware of rutting deer. Except in Florida, it's ALLIGATORS in heat. Every year Floridians have to deal with local alligators on the prowl looking for a mate. People are encouraged not to get in their way.
Fort Myers police just posted about being dispatched to remove an eight-foot gator that tore through a homeowners screen porch to camp out while another gator was filmed strolling across a highway. That video has gone viral.
Elsewhere across the state, a gator was spotted beneath a car in the parking lot of a Buffalo Wings & Rings, one gator lurked outside the fence of a local jail and a 300-pound gator took a swim in a private pool. The biggest so far was clocked in at 12-feet-long and 650 pounds, and that’s without its front leg.