Family Discovers Alligator Floating on Alligator Pool Float in Florida
OutdoorHub Editor: Keenan Crow 05.28.20
Pool floats are a popular summer item these days – especially the ones shaped like slice of pizza, an avocado or a unicorn. But when a family from Georgia visited south Florida on vacation, they learned gators apparently like floating on an alligator pool float after finding one relaxing in the pool at their Airbnb.
David Jacobs returned to the Miami rental home on Sunday, May 19 when he found an actual alligator basking in the sun on top of an alligator-shaped raft. So, just like we saw with the family who discovered a bear in their cabin, Jacobs said his wife immediately called the home owner, who in turn contacted wildlife authorities to help remove the gator.
Wrangling gators out of people’s pools is a busy job to have in Florida right now because it’s mating season for alligators. And these reptiles are always finding themselves in sticky situations around this time of year.
“I guess it’s not that unusual, but it was unusual to me,” Jacobs explained to Miami New Times.
Welcome to Florida.https://t.co/PvqkWaDxEQ
— Christina Nicholson (@ChristinaAllDay) May 25, 2020
As you would expect with this sort of thing, the Internet had a field day and generated some top-notch memes, like this one from Twitter user @craigtimes, utilizing the original image on a popular children’s book:
This is by far my favorite response to @BillyCorben‘s poll on whether that photo of the #Florida gator atop an #alligator pool float is real or fake: Via @Mister_Fun_Guy pic.twitter.com/3ZwsmzmNWm
— Craig Pittman (@craigtimes) May 20, 2019
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, mating season for alligators takes place in May and June. Female alligators build a nest made of soil, vegetation or debris and deposit between 32 and 46 eggs in late June or early July. Baby alligators hatch between mid-August through early September.
“We have gators in Georgia, but they’re just in areas that are not as populated, like some swamp where no one lives,” Jacobs says. “But in Florida, they’re just in your neighborhoods.”
In case you want to join in on the pool float fun, here’s a link to purchase your own alligator pool float: