Trappers contracted by the FWC secure the alligator that showed up in the surf at the Delray Beach public beach. Photo provided by Kristen Cairns
By Larry Barszewski
Coastal beaches have signs advising visitors when dangers like sharks, riptides or jellyfish are present, but Delray Beach needed a different kind of warning at its public beach Oct. 12 — one for alligators.
An alligator was spotted in the surf near Vista Del Mar Drive that morning and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission dispatched a nuisance alligator trapper to the area. Trappers caught and transported the alligator alive to a farm.
Onlookers estimated the large alligator to be about 12 feet in length.
“It was surreal,” said Kristen Cairns, who arrived at the beach with her 20-month-old son at about 9:40 a.m., in the middle of the effort to capture the gator. “It took a few seconds for it to sink in. You’re going, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s an alligator in the ocean.’ Then you start wondering how often does that happen.”
FWC spokeswoman Arielle Callender said it’s not a typical situation, but possible.
“While the American alligator prefers freshwater lakes and slow-moving rivers and their associated wetlands, they are seen in brackish water habitats occasionally,” Callender said in a statement about the incident. “Alligators can swim in and tolerate saltwater for short periods of time, but it is not their preferred habitat.”
Cairns said the alligator seemed lethargic and didn’t put up much of a fight — “she wasn’t really thrashing or moving around” — but was still quite a challenge for the trappers because of its sheer size.
The trappers were having difficulty getting a noose around its neck, Cairns said, then one of the trappers got behind it and started pulling it out of the water by its tail. They finally got a rope around it, which they tied to a four-wheeler, but that didn’t end the troubles, she said.
“The four-wheeler was like digging into the sand, creating a hole” as it tried to pull the gator up the beach to the sidewalk, Cairns said, so some of the workers gave the vehicle a push from behind. The gator was then put in a truck and taken away.
Delray Beach police, fire-rescue workers and lifeguards were also on scene. No injuries were reported.
Callender said people who find an alligator near them can call FWC’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-392-4286.
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