Alligator on the loose captured at school bus stop

INQUIRER.net Stock Photo

An alligator on the loose caught the attention of the locals at Orange County, Florida, USA, while it stayed at a school bus stop.

The nine-foot, eight-inch alligator was spotted in a neighborhood gate at a local elementary school bus stop, resident Natasha Smith told ClickOrlando.com on Thursday.

Officers from the Apopka Police Department arrived moments before the bus made its stop, with one of the passengers being Smith’s son. “If I saw it by myself I would be terrified, let alone the kids coming from the bus,” she said.

“Just terrifying,” the resident said. “They could just walk off the bus and there’s a gator waiting for them at the bus stop. That’s just crazy.”

Another resident, Gregory Griffith, thought that the gator came from the lake behind his home. Officers tried to lure the animal away from the gate and back to the lake, but was unsuccessful with the attempt.

A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trapper was later called in to catch the gator. It was later safely euthanized.

Because of what happened, Smith said she will now talk to her children to talk about alligator safety. “They thought it was all fun and games, but I definitely told them that it’s scary and they shouldn’t be anywhere near gators and if they see them to run the other way,” she said.  Katrina Hallare /ra

RELATED STORIES: 

Man says emotional support alligator helps his depression

LOOK: Little alligator wanders off at a gas station in Florida