Alligator Wanders Into Florida Post Office

Of course in Florida—where else?
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 11, 2021 10:58 AM CDT
Alligator Wanders Into Florida Post Office
The middle-of-the-night intruder.   (Facebook/Hernando County Sheriff's Office)

A Florida customer who may have been trying to avoid crowds by heading to the post office in the dead of night encountered a different kind of inconvenience instead. Per a Hernando County Sheriff's Office statement, the unidentified patron showed up at the Spring Hill post office around 3:30am Wednesday to mail a package and got quite a shock: Inside the building, "roaming the lobby area," was a 7-foot-long alligator, nonchalantly acting as if it had just come to pick up some stamps. While it isn't yet clear how the gator made its way inside, the sheriff's office notes that the post office has automatic double doors that open into the lobby, suggesting the creature didn't pass up the chance when the sensors cleared the way for its entrance.

The Tampa Bay Times notes that, per the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which sent one of its trappers to remove the animal, an alligator is officially considered a "nuisance" if it's 4 feet or longer and if it may be a danger to people, pets, or property (at which point people should call the agency). Per People, the unexpected visitor prompted reactions of disbelief and laughter online. "Oh my God, unbelievable," wrote one user. Another wondered where the alligator came from, as the nearest body of water wasn't that close to the post office and was located across a busy thoroughfare. And, while the alligator was unexpected, jokes after such an incident aren't. "Checking to see if his shipment of Gatorade has arrived," one person couldn't resist. (More alligator stories.)

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