COCOA BEACH, FLORIDA: A Florida man captured a 6-foot alligator on video as it tried to squeeze under his fence. The man also discovered the reptile's nest later. Cocoa Beach resident Bill Geiger Jr recorded the alligator that had broken through half of the fence around his yard when the creature quickly wriggled the remaining distance. According to Geiger Jr, the female alligator appeared like a missile.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, female alligators typically lay 32 to 46 eggs in late June or early July. The eggs molt between mid-August and early September. Geiger claimed that he has spoken to representatives about moving the nest.
'It was incredible'
Geiger heard some noises coming from his backyard as he was walking outside his house. He was shocked to see an enormous alligator trying to squeeze through a very narrow breach in his white fence. Geiger detailed the scenario to Fox 35, stating, "It literally missile-ed through it, it was incredible. It caught me by surprise. I was shocked…I wasn’t really afraid of it; I was just wary of it."
Geiger was getting extremely close to the alligator's nest in his backyard as he had walked up to investigate the sounds. In order to defend her nest, the mother gator started to force her way through the fence after becoming protective and feeling intimidated.
Geiger recorded his encounter with the angry alligator, who briefly seemed to be caught in the fence before showcasing its size and might to widen the opening in the fence so it could climb over.
For the sake of his family's safety, Geiger also had to stop using his backyard and pool. He continued, "I called FWC to find out what to do. They told me, ‘You’ve got to contact the city, you’ve got to do this, there’s a lot of red tape.’ Eventually, probably in a couple of days, they’re going to come out, I hope, (to) remove the eggs and relocate the gator."
'Do not mess with mama alligators'
Geiger told the media outlet that he doesn't usually run from danger, especially alligators. He claims he is managing everything to the best of his ability, and he is "afraid of no gator."
Meanwhile, alligator expert Brandon Fisher at Gatorland stated that female alligators can be quite protective of their offspring. He advised, "Your best thing to do is leave it alone and keep your distance. Please do not mess with mama alligators, don’t feed any alligators, don’t try to do anything with alligators in the state of Florida. For one, it’s against the law, and secondly, it can be potentially very, very dangerous."
