Normally, this is the sort of stuff you’d expect to hear coming out of Australia, but not today. Lieutenant Gregory Rose with the Sarasota County Beach Patrol received a call that an alligator was swimming alongside the South Jetty in Venice, reported Fox 35.
“I have been there 20 years out here and was the first time I was ever involved with,” Rose told Fox. He raced aboard a Yamaha VX WaverRunner to confirm the sighting. Although the alligator was approaching a populated area of beach goers, it appeared not to be pursuing prey. Rose said, “It was just kind of doing its own thing there. Wasn’t aggressive or anything.”
Rose acted to mitigate the threat, jumping from his ski to wrangle the ‘gator until animal control could relocate it. “They are pretty stealthy. You won’t hear them and unless you are looking you won’t know they are there,” Rose explained. And while its unusual to see an alligator in saltwater, Rose said they have had a few similar calls before.
