–A version of this post was published by FTW Outdoors in March 2023.
In February 2023, a Florida weatherman shared a compelling image showing a massive alligator seemingly staring down a photographer on a golf course.
“Welcome to Florida, home to Jurassic Park,” Matt Devitt, Chief Meteorologist for WINK News, wrote on Facebook.
Weeks later, Devitt shared the accompanying footage, showing another large gator easily breaching a metal fence to access the other side. (Click here if the video player doesn’t appear below.)
“Check out this big guy bend the aluminum bars and plow right through it this week in Placida,” Devitt wrote on Facebook. “He eventually got through according to the viewer who shot the video. Only in Florida!”
Devitt stressed in the comments section, which contained input from nearly 2,000 followers, that the bars were not as formidable as, say, wrought iron.
Still, many were impressed by the ease with which the gator clawed through the barrier.
“This can’t be real,” one follower wrote.
The alligator’s size was not provided, but for those who might wonder, the longest alligator recorded in Florida measured 14 feet, 3-1/2 inches. The weight record is 1,043 pounds.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) states on its website that about 1.3 million alligators reside in Florida.
