Fla. trappers capture more than 8,000 nuisance gators in 2016

Author: AP
Published: Updated:
This alligator attacked a golfer on the course at Magnolia Landing Golf and Country Club in North Fort Myers (Photo via Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission).

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) Alligator trappers hired by the state have captured and removed the reptiles in more than 6,500 locations statewide in 2016, resulting in 8,050 captured animals.

The Naples Daily news reports nuisance alligator removals have averaged 7,726 a year between 2001 and 2015. The range is from 5,833 in 2002 to a high of 11,664 in 2006. Alligators are removed when classified as a “nuisance” – longer than four feet and posing a threat to people, pets or property.

Florida’s “season” may be winter and early spring, but for alligators it’s summer. And the approach of the alligator breeding season makes adults irritable.

Florida’s alligator population is about 1.3 million, and alligators live in all 67 counties in the state.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.