According to a social media post from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Department, the gator was stuck in a Cerromar Terrace storm drain in South Venice, and was freed after deputies lifted the cement slab to help it escape.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said a trapper was called but didn’t respond, so the gator was released.
It’s not unusual to find Florida alligators lurking in holes in the ground to stay warm, especially this time of year, says the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. When temps get below 70 degrees Fahrenheit, gators will stop feeding, and if temps get below 55 degrees Fahrenheit they’ll go totally dormant.
“Alligators are dormant throughout much of the winter season,” says the FWC. “During this time, they can be found in burrows (or ‘dens’) that they construct adjacent to an alligator hole or open water, but they occasionally emerge to bask in the sun during spells of warm weather.”
This story was originally posted at our sister paper Creative Loafing Tampa.
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This article appears in Dec 16-22, 2020.
