6-Foot-Long Alligator Chasing Customers Through Restaurant Parking Lot Caught And Relocated

It seems like alligators also get a hankering for fast food sometimes as one was found in the parking lot of a Wendy's restaurant in Florida.

The sheriff's deputies responded to the situation after learning the 6-foot-long reptile was chasing scared customers. The Lee County Sheriff's Office said deputies arrived with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) personnel at the restaurant to find several scared pedestrians.

"He may have just been 'hangry' for a cheeseburger, but he gave many quite the scare!" the sheriff's office tweeted.

The gator was safely captured Tuesday and relocated from Lehigh Acres, just east of Fort Myers. Authorities said that no one was hurt in the incident.

As of April 2019, there are about 1 million alligators in Florida, according to FWC. Data collected by the organization showed between 1948 and 2019, 413 unprovoked alligator bite incidents, of which 25 were fatal, occurred in Florida. The residents of Florida often have encounters with alligators, and in some cases the reptiles are also spotted in the neighborhoods. Even though the latest incident did not turn violent, that is not the case always.

Last week, a man in Florida managed to rescue his puppy from the grasps of an alligator. Mike McCoy was walking his 8-month-old dog near a pond when the gator leaped out of the water and dragged the canine in. McCoy then jumped into a pond and wrestled the reptile to save his pet.

In another recent incident, a man fishing in Florida came close to a massive alligator that emerged out of the water and chased him. The video of the incident was shared on YouTube on May 8 and went viral within days. Tommy Lee recorded the video as he scampered down a narrow path with trees on both sides as the reptile chased him. “Oh Jesus Christ, you got to be careful here,” the 22-year-old was heard saying in the video after seeing the 11-foot-long gator. Reports said the reptile glided toward the bank and started chasing him. The video shows the alligator chasing Lee for a few minutes before he managed to reach a safe place. “Well, that put an end to my tarpon fishing… wow!” Lee, known as Chum Dumpster, on YouTube said in the video.