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Tag: Alligators

  • Pasco County woman fights off gator to save puppy

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    LAND O’ LAKES, Fla. — A Pasco County woman and her dog are both OK after an alligator attacked them while on a walk.

    What You Need To Know

    • Danie Wright said she and her puppy, Dex, are doing well after being attacked by an alligator last week

    • Wright said it happened while she walked Dex near a creek behind her house on Sept. 3

    • According to Wright, she was able to grab Dex by the collar and get him on land before the gator clamped down on her left arm

    • Wright said she was able to fight the 5-foot-long gator off. She has minor injuries, while Dex was unharmed


    “He really dug in right here, but it was another, the other side of his mouth that dug in here that’s a lot deeper,” Danie Wright said, referring to scratches visible under and just outside a bandage on her left arm during the Sept. 3 attack.

    Wright’s wounds may be healing, but the memory of what happened to her and her 4-month-old puppy, Dex, is still fresh.

    “I heard a squeal you never, ever want to hear, and I looked and the alligator was pulling him into the water,” said Wright.

    Wright said she was walking Dex on his leash near a creek behind her home when the gator came out of the water and grabbed him while she was not looking. She told Spectrum News there was only one thing to do: jump into the water after them.

    “Option B was I was just going to kind of step back because I don’t want to fight an alligator, and then not only have to watch my dog get murdered, but hear it,” she said.

    Wright said that was never an option. In the water, she grabbed Dex by the collar.

    “The alligator had him by the front teeth, wasn’t like it was back far,” Wright said. “I took him, and I tossed him up onto the bank. By then, my arm was in the alligator’s mouth.”

    So, the Massachusetts native fought off the Florida predator the only way she could.

    “My dad was a Brockton cop. There’s two famous people from Brockton: Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, two boxers. So, they always say, you know, ‘Brockton tough.’ But my dad always said, ‘You know, if anyone ever gets you, fight for your life,’” said Wright. “I literally just started punching and kicking and elbowing.”

    Wright said she was able to flip the 5-foot-long gator on its back and thinks it was a punch near his eye that got him to loosen his grip and let her get away.

    “So, then, I literally just come walking out of here looking like Swamp Thing and Carrie from the movie,” she said.

    She provided Spectrum News with video of a trapper catching and hauling the gator off, with Dex barking after it. Luckily, he wasn’t hurt at all.

    “This AirTag saved his life because the alligator got his teeth under it,” Wright said, referring to a small disk on his collar. “If he had gone a centimeter more, he would have punctured his throat.”

    While Wright said she’s never seen a gator in the creek in the 20 years she’s owned the property, she said a 13-foot gator was recently trapped nearby. She said she knows things could have gone differently.

    “Just this five-foot gator, how strong his, I mean, I could not get my arm out of his mouth. He was so strong. But I am so, so thankful, I’m thankful that this guy is fine,” she said about Dex.

    The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office confirmed deputies assisted with an animal complaint involving an alligator on Wright’s street on Sept. 3 and referred Spectrum News to FWC for details.

    FWC did not respond to a request for more information.

    Wright is urging dog owners to stay away from bodies of water while on walks and to always be vigilant.

    “If you’re looking at something or listening to something, you’re not watching your dog,” Wright said. “This guy came out of nowhere. Never saw him. So, you have to have your eyes on your dog the entire time you walk.”

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    Sarah Blazonis

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  • Pasco County woman fights off gator to save puppy

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    LAND O’ LAKES, Fla. — A Pasco County woman and her dog are both OK after an alligator attacked them while on a walk.

    What You Need To Know

    • Danie Wright said she and her puppy, Dex, are doing well after being attacked by an alligator last week

    • Wright said it happened while she walked Dex near a creek behind her house on Sept. 3

    • According to Wright, she was able to grab Dex by the collar and get him on land before the gator clamped down on her left arm

    • Wright said she was able to fight the 5-foot-long gator off. She has minor injuries, while Dex was unharmed


    “He really dug in right here, but it was another, the other side of his mouth that dug in here that’s a lot deeper,” Danie Wright said, referring to scratches visible under and just outside a bandage on her left arm during the Sept. 3 attack.

    Wright’s wounds may be healing, but the memory of what happened to her and her 4-month-old puppy, Dex, is still fresh.

    “I heard a squeal you never, ever want to hear, and I looked and the alligator was pulling him into the water,” said Wright.

    Wright said she was walking Dex on his leash near a creek behind her home when the gator came out of the water and grabbed him while she was not looking. She told Spectrum News there was only one thing to do: jump into the water after them.

    “Option B was I was just going to kind of step back because I don’t want to fight an alligator, and then not only have to watch my dog get murdered, but hear it,” she said.

    Wright said that was never an option. In the water, she grabbed Dex by the collar.

    “The alligator had him by the front teeth, wasn’t like it was back far,” Wright said. “I took him, and I tossed him up onto the bank. By then, my arm was in the alligator’s mouth.”

    So, the Massachusetts native fought off the Florida predator the only way she could.

    “My dad was a Brockton cop. There’s two famous people from Brockton: Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, two boxers. So, they always say, you know, ‘Brockton tough.’ But my dad always said, ‘You know, if anyone ever gets you, fight for your life,’” said Wright. “I literally just started punching and kicking and elbowing.”

    Wright said she was able to flip the 5-foot-long gator on its back and thinks it was a punch near his eye that got him to loosen his grip and let her get away.

    “So, then, I literally just come walking out of here looking like Swamp Thing and Carrie from the movie,” she said.

    She provided Spectrum News with video of a trapper catching and hauling the gator off, with Dex barking after it. Luckily, he wasn’t hurt at all.

    “This AirTag saved his life because the alligator got his teeth under it,” Wright said, referring to a small disk on his collar. “If he had gone a centimeter more, he would have punctured his throat.”

    While Wright said she’s never seen a gator in the creek in the 20 years she’s owned the property, she said a 13-foot gator was recently trapped nearby. She said she knows things could have gone differently.

    “Just this five-foot gator, how strong his, I mean, I could not get my arm out of his mouth. He was so strong. But I am so, so thankful, I’m thankful that this guy is fine,” she said about Dex.

    The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office confirmed deputies assisted with an animal complaint involving an alligator on Wright’s street on Sept. 3 and referred Spectrum News to FWC for details.

    FWC did not respond to a request for more information.

    Wright is urging dog owners to stay away from bodies of water while on walks and to always be vigilant.

    “If you’re looking at something or listening to something, you’re not watching your dog,” Wright said. “This guy came out of nowhere. Never saw him. So, you have to have your eyes on your dog the entire time you walk.”

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    Sarah Blazonis

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  • Massive Alligator Killed After Being Spotted With Human Remains In Its Mouth In Florida Canal

    Massive Alligator Killed After Being Spotted With Human Remains In Its Mouth In Florida Canal

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    A 13-foot-8.5-inch alligator was euthanized by authorities in the Tampa Bay, Florida, area after it was seen with human remains in its mouth.

    The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said it removed the large alligator from the waterway after responding to a report of a human body seen in a canal in unincorporated Largo on Friday afternoon, according to a news release.

    The alligator was “humanely killed” with the assistance of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FCW).

    Jamarcus Bullard, who contacted police after seeing the human remains in the alligator’s jaws, described spotting the alligator to local station WFLA.

    “I threw a rock at the gator just to see if it was really a gator, and it pulled the body, like it was holding on to the lower part of the torso, and pulled it under the water,” Bullard said.

    He went on to detail watching authorities corral the alligator after the shocking encounter.

    “They spotted it over here on this side,” Bullard told the local outlet. “And they got this long stick thing, pulled the head out of the water, then they shot it. And once they reeled it all the way out, they stretched it out and measured it 13 feet long, and they shot it again.”

    The victim was publicly identified as 41-year-old Sabrina Peckham, officials said in an updated press release on Saturday.

    The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said the Medical Examiners Office is investigating the victim’s manner and cause of death.

    American alligators are typically found in freshwater lakes, slow-moving rivers and sometimes in brackish water habitats, but rarely in salt water, according to the FWC.

    From 1948 to 2021, 26 people were fatally killed in alligator attacks in Florida, according to the agency.

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  • Baby alligators are being sold in Michigan, dumped or killed when they get too big

    Baby alligators are being sold in Michigan, dumped or killed when they get too big

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    There is a thriving market for pet alligators in Michigan and many of the reptiles are killed or abandoned when they start to get too big.

    Local 4 investigated and found alligators for sale at an expo in Kalamazoo, among other locations.

    The Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary has 200 alligators under their care that had been abandoned. They are a rescue facility for unwanted reptiles.

    “One particular alligator was locked in a dog crate for seven years. He was never able to touch water or swim or touch the ground,” Lina Kelly said. “Some have come in really horrible situations where their mouths have been taped shut and I’ve had wounds all over their faces. So, some of them are locked away in closets and misshapen their spines.”

    Kelly said most people don’t realize how big alligators can get. They can reach up to 15 feet long and live for 60 to 70 years.

    Previous: Going undercover to expose why abandoned alligators are being found around Metro Detroit

    What happens when alligators get to big?

    Local 4 went in undercover with cameras rolling to a Mt. Pleasant home where alligators are being sold.

    “How big are they gonna get?” Local 4 asked.

    “They can get up to 15 feet. I mean, so, they can get pretty big,” Mike Morningstar said. “Obviously, a 15-foot gator — it’ll kill ya.”

    Alligators can grow to be absolutely massive, but that doesn’t stop Mike and Raquel Morningstar from selling young alligators for $200 each. The couple admits the animals they sell usually wind up discarded.

    ‘They either keep them, or they eat them, or turn them into boots’

    “What do people do when they get really big?” Local 4 asked.

    “They either keep them, or they eat them, or turn them into boots,” Raquel Morningstar said.

    Raquel actually suggested people could eat their alligators when they get too big to handle.

    Baby alligators are also listed for sale online with ads that say they “won’t last long.” Who’s buying them? Mike Morningstar said random people.

    The Morningstars are licensed to sell alligators. They said they buy them from a breeder in Florida. They resell the animals and mail them around the country.

    “We started out with like six and then we had 10 and had an order of 18 and we had 12 more after that and they’ve gone quick,” Raquel Morningstar said.

    Mike Morningstar said that there are no legal issues in Michigan and that they can own and sell them. That it’s “not a big deal.”

    That isn’t completely true though. While there aren’t any state laws against alligator sales, some Michigan cities have banned them.

    The Morningstars told our undercover producer that this is the end of alligator season — but it’s not the end of the issue.

    Local 4 spoke with health officials in Detroit and they confirmed they are getting calls for alligators in the city.

    The sanctuary Local 4 visited said they have 200 alligators right now and worry more could be dumping off their pets as winter sets in and the gators continue to grow.

    Have something you’d like us to look into? Reach the Local 4 investigative team at 313-962-9348, or email Karen Drew at kdrew@wdiv.com.

    Previous coverage on alligators and crocodiles found in Michigan:

    Copyright 2022 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.

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  • Dogwalker discovers errant alligator roaming rural Idaho

    Dogwalker discovers errant alligator roaming rural Idaho

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    It’s not uncommon for Idaho wildlife officials to be called for help when a moose, mountain lion, black bear or other wild animals wander into one of the state’s rural communities

    BOISE, Idaho — It’s not uncommon for Idaho wildlife officials to be called for help when a moose, mountain lion, black bear or other wild animals wander into one of the state’s rural communities.

    But Idaho Fish and Game officials are asking the public for help with a particularly unusual find — a 3.5-foot (1-meter) alligator that was discovered hiding in the brush of a rural neighborhood about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Boise.

    Southwest Region spokesperson Brian Pearson told the Idaho Statesman that a New Plymouth resident was walking their dog Thursday evening when they noticed something moving in the brush. Further investigation revealed the alligator — a creature commonly found in the coastal wetlands of the southeastern U.S., but certainly not native to Idaho.

    Pearson said the resident put the alligator in a nearby horse trailer until Idaho Fish and Game conservation officer could pick it up on Friday morning. The department has the animal in captivity for now, but Pearson said it will be euthanized or given to a licensed facility unless the owner is located.

    Idaho Fish and Game officials are hoping members of the public will call the department if they have any information about the alligator’s origins.

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