Alligator Spotted Swimming in Orlando Floodwaters During the Wake of Hurricane Ian

An alligator swimming in a flooded street was spotted by a news reporter while covering the trail of destruction left behind by Hurricane Ian in Orlando, Florida, over the weekend.

The swimming alligator wade past behind the journalist while doing a coverage live on air. The incident is one of the many instances where freshwater or event saltwater animals end up in the streets of Florida during a storm.

Orlando Street Alligator

In a YouTube video uploaded by MSNBC on October 1, NBC News Reporter Jesse Kirsch pointed out the swimming reptile in Orlando floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, which made landfall in the southwest coast of Florida last week. The storm caused massive flooding due to heavy rain and coastal flooding due to its strong winds.

Kirsch said that whenever they cover flooding events, one should not go into the water, warning that aside from alligators we do not all know everything is in there now. The journalist also mentioned if the alligator seen in the video is the same alligator hanging out in the front yard near them.

He also remarked some people were walking in the same area where the gator was swimming in the flooded Orlando neighborhood. At the time of the news coverage, the floodwaters was still not receding and not draining quickly, Kirsch adds, as cited by NBC News.

Florida Street Shark

A similar incident occurred prior to the Orlando floodwaters alligator. On September 28, a story went viral on social media when a resident in Fort Myers, Florida, captured a video of an apparent shark swimming through a flooded street in the neighborhood when Hurricane Ian made landfall on the Sunshine State.

The viral shark video was uploaded by Dominic Cameratta via Storyful, which was also covered by Nature World News on Tuesday, October 4.

The hurricane shark story received scrutiny at first due to its authenticity, in relation to previous shark sightings during floods which were proven as a hoax. However, the recent event was confirmed to be genuine.

Regardless, the recent alligator and alleged shark sightings in Florida during the passage of Ian highlights the close proximity between the said animals with growing human settlements.

Florida Alligator Population

When it comes to the Orlando flood shark, a number of residents in Florida reportedly claim that such event is common since the state swamped by a large population of American alligators, living in inland bodies of water like lakes and swamps.

Florida is known for having a healthy and stable alligator population, consisting of approximately 1.3 million alligators in all 67 counties of the state and inhabit all wild of its wild areas that can support them, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

Wildlife experts say that fatal alligator attacks are rare. However, unprovoked attacks occur, especially if a person stumbles on its territory. In the United States, these attacks are common in Florida.