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Alligator wanders into Florida middle school
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Alligator was trapped inside school by wildlife experts
Stuart Middle School is near the Hillsborough River
It's currently gator mating season
(CNN) -- Looking for love, or perhaps just for some cafeteria food or spelling lessons, an alligator was found Monday inside a middle school in suburban Tampa, Florida.
Tampa police were notified around 7 a.m. that the gator had set itself down in a prime spot, "in front of the cafeteria in Stuart Middle School," the department said in a written statement.
Although school does not let out for another week, no children were inside the school when the reptile was discovered, said Hillsborough County School District spokesman Steve Hegarty.
The school is near the Hillsborough River, so it's not too far-fetched to think an alligator might make its way inside, Hegarty said. Still, he doesn't recall any similar incidents.
"The gator was contained in one of the hallways," police said. Trappers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission caught the creature. No one was injured.
It's currently alligator mating season. According to the conservation commission's website, alligator "courtship" begins in early April, with mating occurring in May or June.
Alligator was trapped inside school by wildlife experts
Stuart Middle School is near the Hillsborough River
It's currently gator mating season
(CNN) -- Looking for love, or perhaps just for some cafeteria food or spelling lessons, an alligator was found Monday inside a middle school in suburban Tampa, Florida.
Tampa police were notified around 7 a.m. that the gator had set itself down in a prime spot, "in front of the cafeteria in Stuart Middle School," the department said in a written statement.
Although school does not let out for another week, no children were inside the school when the reptile was discovered, said Hillsborough County School District spokesman Steve Hegarty.
The school is near the Hillsborough River, so it's not too far-fetched to think an alligator might make its way inside, Hegarty said. Still, he doesn't recall any similar incidents.
"The gator was contained in one of the hallways," police said. Trappers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission caught the creature. No one was injured.
It's currently alligator mating season. According to the conservation commission's website, alligator "courtship" begins in early April, with mating occurring in May or June.
There is a video on the net of a couple who wrote a book about how "not dangerous bears were". It isn't a happy video.
They set up the video camera, went over to the nice wonderful cuddly bear, and it proceeded to kill and eat them while the video camera was running.
There is an interesting book published in 1830 written by a trapper who decided he was going to kill a bear. He had a .75 caliber rifle and shot a grisly bear at point blank range in the head. Even giving the ballistic characteristics of a rifle of that day, this should have been lethal. The bullet bounced off the bears skull. He then discharged two pistols at point-blank range and those bullets bounced off the bear's skull.
The he decided to RUN.
And found out the bear could run too.
Off a cliff, into the river.
Followed the bear. A mad bear.
Down the river over the rapids.
Followed the bear. It was madder.
Finally he grabbed a branch and pulled himself to shore as the bear swoosed by headed downstream.
There's a moral there somewhere.
They set up the video camera, went over to the nice wonderful cuddly bear, and it proceeded to kill and eat them while the video camera was running.
There is an interesting book published in 1830 written by a trapper who decided he was going to kill a bear. He had a .75 caliber rifle and shot a grisly bear at point blank range in the head. Even giving the ballistic characteristics of a rifle of that day, this should have been lethal. The bullet bounced off the bears skull. He then discharged two pistols at point-blank range and those bullets bounced off the bear's skull.
The he decided to RUN.
And found out the bear could run too.
Off a cliff, into the river.
Followed the bear. A mad bear.
Down the river over the rapids.
Followed the bear. It was madder.
Finally he grabbed a branch and pulled himself to shore as the bear swoosed by headed downstream.
There's a moral there somewhere.
I am so glad no one was there to be hurt.
Caregiver222, that does sound frightening. I think my heart would have been beating pretty fast and the urge to flee would be strong but the urge to stay absolutely still hopefully would have overrode it if they were underneath me in masses!!!!!
There was a bear on the loose in Wisconsin recently. Authorities caught the famous black bear that's been roaming central Wisconsin over the past couple of weeks.
Someone spotted him in a tree in Port Washington Saturday morning. Wildlife workers tranquilized him and will take him back up north.
We don't get those exciting exotic creatures unless it is an escapee!!!
Caregiver222, that does sound frightening. I think my heart would have been beating pretty fast and the urge to flee would be strong but the urge to stay absolutely still hopefully would have overrode it if they were underneath me in masses!!!!!
There was a bear on the loose in Wisconsin recently. Authorities caught the famous black bear that's been roaming central Wisconsin over the past couple of weeks.
Someone spotted him in a tree in Port Washington Saturday morning. Wildlife workers tranquilized him and will take him back up north.
We don't get those exciting exotic creatures unless it is an escapee!!!
Yikes!! That must be scary. I'm happy to hear that the situation was resolved without injury.
But somehow I do find it amusing that the alligator was waiting for "lunch" in front of the cafeteria door. He must have had a different idea about what serving students means!
Please, no flames. I certainly do not advocate feeding middle schoolers to alligators and I do realize that this is a potentially a very dangerous situation. And I'm very glad that no students were harmed. My youngest just "graduated" from Middle School.
But somehow I do find it amusing that the alligator was waiting for "lunch" in front of the cafeteria door. He must have had a different idea about what serving students means!
Please, no flames. I certainly do not advocate feeding middle schoolers to alligators and I do realize that this is a potentially a very dangerous situation. And I'm very glad that no students were harmed. My youngest just "graduated" from Middle School.
Yes, it is the time of year that Alligators are on the move. You have to be very careful. It is mating season. You never walk your dog too close to the water either, dog and cat is their fav meal. lol
Alligators are pretty scary.
Decades ago I was on a military training exercise in the Everglades. We were there for two weeks hunting armed with 1911 Colts with .22 subcaliber adapters.
We set up hammocks deep in the everglades set up between trees and about one A.M. I was awakened by rustling.
I turned on a flashlight and there were what seemed to be hundreds of alligators moving acrosss the ares underneath my hammock! I had a squad of men with me and we were all scared out of out minds. These were BIG!
There was the sound of chambering rounds. I doubt the .22 would have dented them.
Nobody did anything and for about forty five minutes the procession passes, one alligator behind the other, paying no attention whatever to us, on some sort of a migration.
It was the scariest moment of my life.
Decades ago I was on a military training exercise in the Everglades. We were there for two weeks hunting armed with 1911 Colts with .22 subcaliber adapters.
We set up hammocks deep in the everglades set up between trees and about one A.M. I was awakened by rustling.
I turned on a flashlight and there were what seemed to be hundreds of alligators moving acrosss the ares underneath my hammock! I had a squad of men with me and we were all scared out of out minds. These were BIG!
There was the sound of chambering rounds. I doubt the .22 would have dented them.
Nobody did anything and for about forty five minutes the procession passes, one alligator behind the other, paying no attention whatever to us, on some sort of a migration.
It was the scariest moment of my life.
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