A massive gator estimated to weigh about 750 pounds was removed from Jupiter Commerce Park and relocated to a safe area.
Jupiter Police responded to a call from a business owner about a large gator in the area Thursday morning.
“The call came in that somebody spotted a gator so we responded to the area and realized it was a pretty big gator,’’ said Kristin Rightler, a public information officer for Jupiter Police.
Officers estimated the alligator to be “almost 12 feet long,” according to the department’s Facebook page, where photos of the reptile have been shared more than 800 times.
“Holy Cow! No I meant alligator,” wrote one user.
The photos feature officers wrangling with the gator and posing with it.
The department contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission which contracted a trapper who was taking the gator to a gator farm in Central Florida “where he will live out the remainder of his years,’’ Rightler said.
The trapper told Jupiter Police that he estimated the gator was about 100 years old, “which seemed a little bit old,” she said.
The average size of a male alligator is about 11.2 feet long and they can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. The average size of an adult female gator is about 8.2 feet long.
The sighting is a good reminder that alligators are around and active in South Florida, especially during warm weather.
Their mating season begins April and runs through June.
The FWC regularly offers tips on how people can stay safe.
Among the precautions: never feed an alligator, keep your distance if you spot one and keep pets on a leash and away from the edge of a body of water.
If you’re concerned about an alligator in the area, call the FWC hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).