Florida Woman Steals Alligator for Birthday Photoshoot, Then Leaves It in Nearby Hotel

A Florida woman stole a baby alligator to use it for a birthday photoshoot of a lifetime, but only to leave it afterward at a nearby hotel, according to local reports. The woman stole the Florida alligator from a local tourist attraction as part of a bizarre incident that occurred earlier in September.

She apparently "borrowed" the young reptile from the Tampa facility, which was reportedly her former employer.

Florida Woman Steals Alligator

It was on September 4 when the Orange County Sheriff's Office received a call about a baby alligator found in a bathtub from one of the hotel rooms of the Grove Resort and Water Park, located in Winter Garden of Florida's Orange County.

Reports suggest the little crocodilian was stolen from a Tampa tourist attraction, called Croc Encounters. In addition, the said motive of the woman is to use the wild animal for her birthday pictures.

According to a cited incident report, filed by the Florida Wild Control and the sheriff's office, the alligator was taken by the Florida woman in the early hours of the morning and brought the cold-blooded creature to the hotel. The owner of the park confirmed the woman is no longer with the company and is not authorized to enter the premises and contact the animals, based on the report.

American Alligators

Florida alligators belong to the species American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), sometimes called as a gator or common alligator. They are native in the Southeast United States, which includes Florida and other states. Due to their increasing population, local wildlife authorities have imposed different measures to control them or take drastic actions, especially when these gators become a significant threat to the public.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), American alligators are distributed from southeast Oklahoma and east Texas in the west and from North Carolina to Florida in the east. In addition, A. mississippiensis prefers freshwater lakes and slow-moving rivers, but they can also be found in brackish water habitats.

In Florida, alligators can be legally taken by persons under the condition that they meet the requirements like proper licenses and permits, the FWC adds.

Florida Alligator Population

Wildlife authorities estimate that there are 5 million American alligators living in the Southeast US, with 25% of the alligator population found in Florida. Due to the large gator population in Florida, the risk of encounters between wild alligators and humans has increased over the past several decades. There are some instances where these encounters lead to fatal attacks.

Earlier in September, human remains were found inside the jaws of a 13-foot alligator, which was euthanized afterward by local officials. Authorities identified the victim as 41-year-old Sabrina Peckham.

In February 2022, an 85-year-old woman died after being mauled to death by a 10-foot alligator when she attempted to rescue her dog from the predator near a pond in Florida.