Massive 750-pound gator removed from South Florida park

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A massive gator estimated to weigh about 750 pounds was removed from Jupiter Commerce Park and relocated to a safe area.

Jupiter Police responded to a call about a large gator in the area Thursday morning.

“Sometimes the alligators are gone, or they’re behind or on the opposite side of the park somewhere,” Jupiter Police officer O’Neal Anderson told the Palm Beach Post. “But this one was in reach of the general public. So they contacted FWC.”

When officers arrived, they found an alligator they estimated to be “almost 12 feet long,” according to the department’s Facebook page, where photos of the reptile have been shared more than 800 times.

“Holy Cow! No I meant alligator,” wrote one user.

The photos feature officers wrangling with the gator and posing with it.

Police say the gator was relocated to a safe area.

The average size of a male alligator is about 11.2 feet long and they can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. The average size of an adult female gator is about 8.2 feet long.

The sighting is a good reminder that alligators are around and active in South Florida, especially during warm weather.

Their mating season begins April and runs through June.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission regularly offers tips on how people can stay safe.

Among the precautions: never feed an alligator, keep your distance if you spot one and keep pets on a leash and away from the edge of a body of water.