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Miami Herald

Stubborn 7-foot alligator refuses to leave swimming pool, Florida video shows

An alligator in Florida has become a hot topic on social media after it magically appeared at the bottom of a home's swimming pool. The debate is over how it got there, given the pool is surrounded by a wooden fence about 6 feet high that's designed to withstand storms. It happened Saturday, May 31, at a home in Jensen Beach and video shows deputies found the 7-foot gator was making a comically bad attempt to blend into the aqua colored bottom of the pool. A trapper was summoned and his efforts to pull the alligator off the bottom resulted in a tug-of-war that went from one side of the pool to the other. The video ends with the gator being dragged through a gate. Deputies aren't sure how it got there, but there are only two realistic possibilities: 'It's believed the gator either climbed over or found its way under the fencing,' the Martin County Sheriff's Office wrote in a Facebook post. The video had been viewed more than 321,000 times as of June 3 and amassed 2,100 reactions and comments, many from people in disbelief. 'Fully fenced yard? Yikes,' Colleen Marie wrote. 'That high (a fence) without sliding back down?' Danielle Rosario wrote. 'I've lived here since 1970. I've seen gators climb chain link, wooden, vinyl fences. ... And screen(ed) enclosures. ... If there's a body of water in Florida … always assume a gator, croc, snake, bear, or any wildlife could be lurking beneath the waters,' Debbie Williams said. 'I don't think it should have been a wooden fence, it should have been a concrete infilled taller fence,' Ella Maria wrote. Water attracts alligators but experts say there is another reason it may have strayed into the yard. 'This unusual encounter is an important reminder: it's mating season for alligators,' the sheriff's office wrote. 'During this time, they become much more active and may travel into areas they don't typically frequent — including fully fenced yards like this one.' Jensen Beach is about a 110-mile drive north from Miami.