9-Foot Alligator Rescued From Selmon Expressway; Sighting Happens a Month Before Mating Season

Alligator sightings have been reported lately. One was spotted in an expressway in Florida.

Giant Alligator at Selmon Expressway

A huge alligator was spotted on Florida's Lee Roy Selmon Expressway over the weekend. The Selmon Expressway is a 17-mile highway that feeds into downtown Tampa. A passerby reported the sighting to Florida Highway Patrol around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday (March 31), according to Sgt. Steve Gaskins.

According to Gaskins, about 20 minutes later, a trooper showed up and proceeded to restrain the gator from getting into the road while waiting for the trapper. At 8 p.m., the alligator was safely brought into custody.

He didn't share the details how Trooper J. Lambeta stopped the gator from moving while fast automobiles passed. With a maximum length of 9 feet and a weight of 1,000 pounds, the alligator is considered average in size in the state where it is found. Officials from the Florida Highway Patrol used the incident to illustrate how troopers never know who they'll be saving.

Meanwhile, photos from the incident were shared on social media. It received several responses with many joking about the whole thing.

"I take it he was trying to get into the high-speed lane," one person commented. Another added, "Clear violation of the gator's 4th amendment right to not be subject to unreasonable search and seizure"

Another user remarked that Florida received all the fame as "gator country," so they were shocked when they learned that there were more gators in Louisiana.

The sighting of the gator came a month before the mating season.

When Is Alligators' Mating Season?

According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, alligators mating season starts in May or June. However, in early April, courtship begins.

Flooding or predators destroy about one-third of alligator nests.

Only roughly 24 hatchlings will emerge from those that make it, and only 10 will live for a year. Eight of the yearlings typically mature into subadults and grow four feet long; only five reach six feet.

According to the FWC, alligators can be found in nearly all fresh and brackish water bodies and occasionally in salt water. They are found in all 67 counties in Florida.

Alligators are cold-blooded animals that may change their body temperature by relocating to locations with warmer or colder water or air temperatures, or by basking in the sun. They go dormant when it is below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and are most active between 82 and 92 degrees.

There is only about a one in 3.1 million chance that a Florida citizen will suffer significant injuries in an unprovoked alligator incident. However, according to FWC data, 13 persons in Florida suffered alligator bites in 2022, with two of them passing away.

Last year, an 11-foot alligator attacked an unsuspecting 85-year-old woman and dragged her to her death. Gloria Serge, 85, was standing near a lake outside Spanish Lakes Fairways, a retirement community in Fort Pierce, when the gator suddenly resurfaced from the water and approached her.

The 11-foot gator, named Henry, was said to be a local fixture. The trappers caught him, and he was euthanized.

Check out more news and information on Alligators in Science Times.