Two Alligators Found in Swimming Pools Around Tampa, Florida

Jack Phillips
5/6/2016
Updated:
5/6/2016

Alligators were discovered in swimming pools around Tampa, Florida, according to homeowners. Videos of the gators were uploaded online.

Elizabeth Foster of Temple Terrace found a 9-foot-long specimen in her pool, while Palm Harbor resident Nancy Bloch discovered a 7-foot-long alligator in her pool.

They both found them on Wednesday, according to local media reports. According to MYNews13:

- Two homeowners found alligators in their pool
- They broke the screens in both lanais
- Both called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
- FWC says the gator mating season and warmer weather contributes to more active alligators
- Mating season goes from March to May

“I was headed towards the pool pump and something caught my eye and so I looked and there was a giant alligator in my pool,” Foster told the station.

 

(YouTube)
(YouTube)

She called a gator trapper to the scene. Two hours later, the gator, which was named “Loch Ness,” was removed.

“He chose my pool, so I felt very special. So, I thought I should name him,” she added. “It was a male. So, I thought, yeah, he’s my Loch Ness Monster.”

The gator weighed about 250 pounds.

On the other side of town, Bloch found the 7-foot-long gator. Her dog started barking.

“I went to see what she was barking at and I saw a very large shadow on the bottom of the pool,” she told Bay 9 News.

The FWC was called and it removed the animal.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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