Sanibel police remove aggressive alligator

SANIBEL ISLAND, Fla. – Sanibel police took care of a neighborhood nuisance on Wednesday night. A 6-foot alligator was lurking in someone’s backyard pond.

“Actually we see gators all the time, but they never have been this ferocious per say,” said Paul Dibenedetto.

Dibenedetto is used to seeing all kinds of wildlife in his backyard on Sanibel Island, this alligator just seemed to be causing too many problems.

“There’s some kids and the neighbor was saying how the gator was sitting on the bank for a couple of days kind of harassing them as well,” said Dibenedetto.

In cellphone video exclusively obtained by WINK News, you can see the alligator swim up directly to police, thrashing in the water, and fighting off being captured.

“I helped them and I put the duct tape on the mouth of the alligator. It was pretty fun,” Dibenedetto said.

However, this isn’t the first time an aggressive alligator has bothered the neighborhood. In 2004, a 12-foot-long alligator killed a woman in the pond next door to Dibenedetto.

Even though neighbors are used to seeing them around, they tell WINK News they’re glad this one was captured.

“It was very aggressive, really aggressive. Usually they just kind of stay on the bank or swim around on the pond,” said Dibenedetto.

“I don’t know what it was, five or six feet but I guess they call that small here. But we’re from Chicago, so that’s kind of big,” said Kevin Jensen, Dibenedetto’s neighbor.

Sanibel police say they turned the alligator over to the state trapper.