8-Foot Alligator Rescued From Neighborhood Storm Drain

An eight-foot alligator was freed from a storm drain in a Westchester, Florida neighborhood on Tuesday after being trapped for days. NBC8 reported that two teenagers were playing catch, and the ball landed on the storm drain where they noticed the reptile.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to the scene to rescue the alligator, which was stuck in the storm drain for the entire weekend. Also there to respond was a tow truck and crews from the Miami-Dade County Public Works Department.

The crews flushed about 1,500 gallons of water into the drain to push the alligator into a pond, and though it took a few hours, the alligator was back in its natural habitat.

"I feel bad that it is in there suffering right now," a resident told WSVN. "It's so massive that there's no way it can back up into the canal. I mean we're talking about a quarter of a mile stretch that it would have to back up into in order to make it back into the canal."

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Spokesperson Ronald Washington also told WSVN the alligator backed away from responders when they tried to move it and swam back into the canal.

"Any day where nobody is hurt and no animals are hurt, then our mission has been fulfilled," Washington said. "We're the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and protecting our natural resources is number one and public safety, also."

A number of residents told WSVN they spotted the alligator on Friday and contacted a number of different agencies, but did not find someone to respond.

The news outlet said the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission didn't receive any calls until hearing from WSVN on Tuesday.

Washington added the agency determines, based on the information they receive, whether a contractor needs a permit to relocate the alligator. And, he said people should not try to feed an alligator if they come across one.

According to Florida Statute 372.667, it's illegal for a person to intentionally feed wild American alligators or American crocodiles.

Tammy Sapp, another spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee, told Newsweek that serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida, and the goal of the agency is to address alligator threats in various areas.

If a trapper from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee captures an alligator, it becomes the property of the trapper. Sapp told Newsweek that the gator may be sold to an alligator farm, animal exhibit or zoo.

This isn't the first time an alligator was spotted somewhere it didn't belong.

In August, Newsweek reported that a Texas homeowner called the police after she found an alligator in her hot tub. The baby gator was released by officers after it was removed from the hot tub.

Updated 09/10/2021, 4:01 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include a comment from Tammy Sapp, a spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee.