STONE ISLAND, Fla. – Run-ins with alligators for three people this week across Volusia County have some homeowners on edge.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said this is the time of year the reptiles are most aggressive and active.
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“It was definitely an unexpected surprise,” said homeowner Lynn Tosi.
Tosi said her family is used to seeing gators in the water around Stone Island.
“We see them all the time when we take the dogs out and we try to not take them too close to the water, but we’re like two and a half blocks each way from the water,” she said.
She’s still wondering how and why one came to her house Wednesday morning and ended up in her pool.
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“I opened up the backdoor here to go ahead and let the dog out and luckily I looked up and there was this rather large gator in my pool,” she said.
It’s something she said they’ve never experienced in the years they’ve lived there. A ripped patio screen and flattened bushes show where the gator barreled through.
“Busted right through there, kind of like the Kool-Aid man, you know? He just kind of busted through and I have no idea how long he was here before I noticed him in the morning,” she said.
Tosi said she and her husband called FWC who came out and trapped it. FWC said because it was a nuisance gator, it was euthanized.
“After they got him out of the pool and got him into the truck, he measured at about 11 and a half feet,” she said.
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It wasn’t the first gator that had to be killed in Volusia this week.
On Saturday, a Daytona Beach man heard a noise at his front door and, thinking someone was knocking, opened it to find a gator that immediately lunged and bit him. Then on Sunday, a Deltona man shot a gator who broke through a fence in his backyard and had his dog’s head in his mouth. FWC said he won’t face charges for killing it.
FWC officials said gators get more aggressive and visible this time of year looking for food and mates. They said to keep a safe distance, keep pets away from the water, and only swim during the daytime. To report a nuisance gator, call 1-866-FWC-Gator (866-392-4286).
“If my dogs had been back here, or if my daughter was home from school and she likes to sit out here at night, that would have been terrifying,” said Tosi.
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