{"id":48314,"date":"2024-07-31T18:30:55","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T22:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=48314"},"modified":"2024-07-31T18:31:02","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T22:31:02","slug":"massive-gator-causes-stir-in-mulberry-front-yard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2024\/07\/31\/massive-gator-causes-stir-in-mulberry-front-yard\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0Massive Gator Causes Stir In Mulberry Front Yard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Mulberry resident\u2019s front yard became an unexpected wildlife sanctuary Wednesday when a colossal alligator decided to take up residence.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-dominant-color=\"4d635c\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #4d635c;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"596\" height=\"437\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 596px) 100vw, 596px\" src=\"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-58-18.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-48315 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-58-18.png 596w, https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-58-18-300x220.png 300w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Deputies say the gator, captured in photos by local resident Jacob, was seen hissing at passersby from its comfortable spot on the lawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Polk County Sheriff\u2019s Office received a call from concerned resident Rhonda, alerting them to the situation. Deputies promptly responded to the scene, ensuring the safety of residents while awaiting the arrival of a trapper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Polk County Sheriff\u2019s Office shared the encounter on social media with the hashtag #WildlifeWednesday, showcasing the unique challenges and encounters that law enforcement officers face in the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Living in harmony with Florida\u2019s alligators:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Keep Your Distance: Always maintain a safe distance from alligators, even small ones. Remember, they are wild animals and can be unpredictable. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Never Feed Them: Feeding alligators is illegal and dangerous. It can cause them to lose their natural fear of humans and become aggressive. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Swim Smart: Swim only in designated swimming areas during daylight hours. Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Supervise Pets and Children: Keep pets on a leash and away from the water\u2019s edge. Children should be supervised near any body of water. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dispose of Fish Scraps Properly: Don\u2019t discard fish scraps in the water or on shore near your home. This can attract alligators.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Report Nuisance Alligators: If you see an alligator that appears to be a threat to people or pets, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286). &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Mulberry resident\u2019s front yard became an unexpected wildlife sanctuary Wednesday when a colossal alligator decided to take up residence. Deputies say the gator, captured in photos by local resident&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2,"attached_media":[{"id":48315,"url":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-58-18.png","type":"image\/png"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[9277],"class_list":["post-48314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-massive-gator-causes-stir-in-mulberry-front-yard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48314"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48316,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48314\/revisions\/48316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}