Alligator Chases Down People in Wendy’s Parking Lot

Meanwhile…in Florida, an alligator, apparently hungry for a burger and fries, was wrangled as he was chasing down customers in a Wendy’s parking lot!

According to local Fox News affiliate, FOX35 Orlando, Lee County Sheriff Deputies captured a 6-foot alligator after they say it chased pedestrians through a Wendy’s parking lot.

Officials responded to Lee Blvd. in Lehigh Acres, where they encountered the rowdy reptile. “He may have just been ‘hangry’ for a cheeseburger, but he gave many quite the scare!” the sheriff’s office wrote on Twitter.

Photos show a trapper with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission wrangling the gator. The sheriff’s office says the gator was safely relocated. No injuries were reported.

Officials with the FWC say the gator was likely attempting to move “between two waterbodies” when it was spotted.

“Alligators prefer lakes and slow-moving rivers and their wetlands, but can also be found in brackish water and, for short periods of time, in saltwater,” a spokesperson for the FWC said in a statement.

This Wendy’s gator was just one of several reports of alligator sightings, which are on the increase due to the beginning of gator mating season – which typically begins in May or June. In fact, an alligator was filmed strolling through a Publix parking lot in nearby Fort Myers just a few weeks prior to this incident.

By late June or early July, female gators will lay between 32 to 46 eggs. Incubation periods for alligators take about 60 to 65 days, and baby gators will be born in late August or early September, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The increased alligator activity over the next few months can lead to more frequent run-ins with humans. Wildlife officials urge everyone to be careful and pay close attention when spending time around fresh or brackish water. Keep in mind that alligators are most active between dusk and dawn.

In the rare instance that you become concerned about an alligator, call FWC’s toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-392-4286.