GATOR IN A TREE! Yep, it's real. Tuesday in Cape Coral. Ronald S. says "thought it was an iguana, until I got close" pic.twitter.com/qF5qRuJVs0
— Matt Devitt (@MattDevittWX) July 6, 2016
We’ve seen alligators waiting for us in our swimming pools and even ringing our doorbells in an attempt to lure us outside, but now they’ve gone full stealth by hiding in trees. That’s what Ronald Saracino of Cape Coral, Florida, thinks he spotted earlier this week, anyway. Saracino, a southwest Florida man who first spotted the gator, told WINK News that he’s been a Florida resident for eight years but it was the first time he’s seen anything like this.
“Saw something in a tree, at first I thought maybe it was a lizard. The more I looked at it, the more I thought it was actually probably a 5-foot gator,” he said. Thankfully, Saracino had the sense to snap a picture of the suspected gator, but nope, apparently it’s not the most unusual thing in the world.
“They are more agile than people give them credit for,” explained Amy Sera, an educator at the Calusa Nature Center in Fort Myers. Sera says it’s common for gators to climb things, such as fences, if they need to.
“I’ve seen picture of crocodiles doing that behavior. It gives them a little bit better view of their territory,” Sera said. “Cold blooded animals get their energy from the sun and the warmth. So, they are more active in the summer.”
A better view of their territory, and a better view of the humans they can drop down and surprise attack, ninja style. Never walking under a tree again.
(Via WINK News, Huffington Post)