Big Alligator Turns Up at Florida Middle School

A big alligator turned up at a Florida middle school while students were making their way to class.

The 7-foot gator was found wandering around the grounds of Lexington Middle School in Fort Myers when students were being dropped off Wednesday morning, according to a tweet by Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno.

In a video posted by Marceno, school resource officer (SRO) Jennings, who just happens to be a former alligator trapper, can be seen wrangling the reptile.

Florida is home to 1.3 million alligators. They can be found in all 67 counties of the state that is home to more than 21 million people. They usually dwell in swamps and wetlands, but due to the state's high abundance of the reptiles, they occasionally turn up in populated areas.

In the footage, officers can be seen holding the alligator with rope while Jennings attempts to secure it.

Jennings can be seen kneeling over the reptile and attempting to hold it down with his hands. He takes hold of the body before clamping his hand down on the alligator's snout.

While still kneeling on the alligator, he holds the alligator's jaws shut with one hand while waiting for assistance from another officer.

Marceno said in the Twitter post that the alligator was relocated to a safe area.

Alligators have a reputation for being aggressive; however, they will not usually pose a threat to humans unless directly provoked. Occasionally, an alligator may attack a human if it feels its territory is threatened.

Marceno posted another video to Twitter showing the alligator being released shortly after its capture.

"See you later, alligator," the sheriff wrote in a caption.

The alligator can be seen being carried by four officers before being placed in the back of a vehicle.

"Oh my...That's where my son goes to school! Thank you Lee Sheriff's and FWC for watching out for our kids and getting this gator back to a more suitable habitat," one Twitter user said in response to the video.

Alligators are particularly active during this time of year, when the weather is hot. This means sightings are more likely.

Occasionally, an alligator may be deemed a nuisance by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) if it shows threatening behavior. An alligator may be considered a nuisance if "it's at least 4 feet in length and believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property," FWC says on its website.

If an alligator is not posing a threat to people, it is relocated to another area.