Large alligator pulled from pool in Sarasota County

NOKOMIS (FOX 13) - It’s not your typical pool party, but for this eleven foot-long alligator, this Sarasota home seemed like the right place to make a splash and startle the homeowners.

At first, Rob Carver thought the noise could have been an intruder.

“I thought a two-legged intruder,” Carver said. “I turned on the lights and looked out the bedroom window, and I saw something outside the lanai and at first I thought it was a bobcat, but then I looked at it and said, “oh my God, that’s a large alligator. Next thing I know the gator comes right through the screen like butter.”

Two hours later, trappers struggled to capture the massive reptile.

“Once the trapper came and put ropes and restraints on it, it was thrashing around pretty good, splashing water around the pool,” Carver said.

Carver said it is a late night dip, he won’t soon forget.

“It wasn’t like just this little creature, but it was not a quite a monster,” he said.

FOX 13 News reached out to the FWC, who said in most cases after an alligator is captured it is processed for its hide and meat.

They say only occasionally are nuisance alligators sold alive to an alligator farm, exhibit, or zoo.