WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) – Residents in Westchester were surprised to find a massive gator taking a stroll through their neighborhood.
A video posted by OnlyInDade captured the large reptile passing through Wilfredo Santana’s front yard near Southwest 99th Place and 11th Street.
7News spoke with Santana, who was shocked to see how close the animal got to his home.
“I was working, I saw him through the cameras. That’s a big animal,” Santana said in Spanish.
Nearby residents called 911 to report the wild animal.
A short time later, officers for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission showed up to wrangle the reptile.
The video goes on to show officers moving in as they worked to corral the gator. The gator manages to spin around several times before officers get it under control.
Not long after, the officers have the gator subdued and secured with tape.
Neighbors said even though there’s a lake nearby, they’d never seen an alligator walking through the area like that.
“More than 40 years I’ve been living here and I’ve never seen one of those but there is a lake back there,” said Santana in Spanish.
The FWC says there are about 1.3 million alligators across all 67 counties in Florida.
Santana told 7News this particular gator posed a real risk, especially to kids and elderly residents.
“It’s a danger, it’s a danger because that is a big animal,” he said in Spanish.
Officials are also reminding all residents that an alligator is considered a nuisance if it’s more then 4 feet long and a threat to people and pets. If anyone has concerns about an alligator in their area, they can call the FWC’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 1-866-392-4286.
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