A neighborhood off of Florida's Gulf Coast has some unwanted visitors roaming around.
Last week, two massive alligators were spotted walking through residential areas in Venice, about a half-hour south of Sarasota. Some estimate that the reptiles were 10-feet in length or even longer.
The first gator was spotted on Easter Sunday wandering through the city's Harrington Lake neighborhood. A video of the behemoth was posted to Facebook by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.
"We're guessing he was about 10 feet in length and boy, did he take his time making it back to the lake he came from. We can't blame him just thinking about how heavy that tail must be," police said.
After strolling through front lawns and driveways, the alligator eventually crawled back into a lake and went about his business.
The second gator was spotted two days later strolling through the Bird Bay Village condominium community. The Venice Police Department posted video of the gigantic gator crossing the road as officers blocked the street from traffic.
Venice Police Public Information Officer Lorraine Anderson told the Miami Herald that the gators were spotted about nine miles apart, so they're likely two different animals.
"It's mating season, so they're everywhere," she said. "You have to be careful out there because they're on the move."
Anderson said trappers were not called in either incident because the alligators would have been relocated to a remote location and possibly euthanized.
"We like to keep them in their habitat," she added.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission considers an alligator to be a nuisance if it's at least four feet long and believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property. Mating season begins with courtship in early April, followed by mating in May or June, according to the FWC.
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