A routine afternoon took a surprising turn for Barbara Smith on Thursday when she encountered an uninvited guest on her doorstep – a nearly 7-foot-long alligator.
The reptile, which was also missing a leg, had made its way to Smith's porch, catching her completely off guard.
Smith first received a strange text from her neighbors, who warned her to stay inside and avoid opening the door. Upon checking, she discovered the enormous gator waiting outside.
"I got this strange text saying, 'This is what we see on your front porch, don't come out the door,'" Smith said. "It was our neighbors who said, this is us across the street."
She later learned from a police officer that the creature, initially referred to as a "baby" alligator, was, in fact, far from small.
"They told me it was a baby, but as you saw, it was almost seven feet long. It was not a baby," Smith said.
Cape Coral police realized that handling the large alligator on their own would not be feasible, and they called in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Smith and her husband were left to wonder how the gator ended up on their doorstep.
"My husband said, 'Why us?'" Smith said.
Despite the unexpected wildlife encounter, Smith expressed her gratitude to the neighbors who had warned her and offered support during the ordeal.
"I owe you my life," she added.
The FWC responded swiftly, sending a professional gator trapper to remove the animal from Smith's property. The gator, along with three others recently captured at Fort Myers Beach, was transported to a farm located between Alva and LaBelle, where it will be relocated to a more suitable environment.
"We've got probably 2,000 alligators on 125 acres," the gator trapper said, ensuring that the reptiles would be given a proper home.
Throughout the process, Cape Coral police officers remained on scene to ensure the safety of local residents, especially schoolchildren walking home. They wanted to make sure the alligator posed no threat to anyone in the area, particularly those walking after school.