WHOA! 11-foot alligator breaks into a home in Clearwater

An unwanted overnight visitor had to be removed from a home on Eagles Landing Circle West in Clearwater.

Police say the 11-foot-long gator broke into the home through some low windows in the kitchen.

At 3:29 a.m. Friday, a woman delivering newspapers was on her delivery route when she saw what she described as a large alligator acting in an aggressive manner in the road and then in front of a home on Eagles Landing Circle West.

The caller said it was thrashing around in the road and it then moved down the walkway toward the front door.

Fearing the homeowner would open her door to a large alligator, she called 911. Shortly thereafter she heard a large crash. Around the same time, at 3:32 a.m., the homeowner called, reporting that there was a large alligator in her kitchen.

Clearwater Police arrived on scene and waited for the alligator trappers. Once the trappers arrived, they wrangled the alligator out of the house at 4:49 a.m. through the same window he broke when entering the home.

The lead trapper, who does not want to be identified or contacted by the media, arrived and secured the alligator. During the apprehension, the alligator knocked over a wine shelf and several bottles of wine were broken.

The alligator did suffer minor cuts to a shoulder but the majority of the red liquid on the floor in the photos was wine. There was only one person home at the time of this incident and there were no injuries to the homeowner, trapper or officers. There are no pets in the home.

The alligator will be taken to a private location locally to rest and recover from what the trapper described as a traumatic experience for the gator. If the gator is deemed to be a good candidate for relocation, then the alligator will be taken to a private alligator farm in Fort Meade. The alligator was 10 to 11 feet in length and is a male.