15-foot python, beach gator and road-crossing bear: A wild weekend in Florida
By Isaias Soto
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COLLIER COUNTY, Florida (WBBH) — Collier County residents and visitors spotted several wild animals over the weekend, including an alligator swimming at Lowdermilk Beach, a bear crossing Immokalee Road and a 15-foot Burmese python nesting at a Naples resort.
Alligator spotted swimming at Lowdermilk Beach An alligator was spotted swimming at Lowdermilk Beach on Sunday afternoon, drawing attention from beachgoers. Britney Cardullo, who witnessed the reptile, said she had never seen one at the beach before.
“We’ve never seen anything like that before. I’ve seen dolphins. Manatees, you know,” Cardullo said.
Cardullo and her family saw the alligator around 3 p.m. She said she was born and raised in the area and was familiar with seeing alligators, but the sighting was more concerning with several toddlers nearby.
“Yeah. I mean, we had a few toddlers with us, you know, so that’s always a little worse. But, I mean, I was born and raised here, you know, so it’s not unusual to see gators,” Cardullo said.
Bear crosses Immokalee Road in Collier County A driver’s video captured a bear crossing Immokalee Road beneath the Interstate 75 overpass Saturday morning. Michelle Deutsch, a visitor, said wildlife is part of life in the area.
“It is part of living here. It is. You have to look before you open your garage door for bears. You have to watch coyotes with the dogs. Cane toads,” Deutsch said.
Python nests at a Naples resort A female python was found nesting at a Naples resort Friday night. Keene Helm, the trapper who captured the snake, said it was about 15 feet long.
“In my experience, when somebody says it’s a python, it’s usually about 10 to 12 feet. When we got there, it was all 15 feet,” Helm said.
Helm said mating season keeps female pythons active in Collier County. He confirmed captured pythons are euthanized and donated for research.
The weekend sightings reminded visitors to stay alert around wildlife. When asked what she would do if she saw an alligator, Deutsch joked, “Run? And that’s zigzag. Just run.”
Another visitor said the Gulf also is home to wildlife: “I would definitely go in the water no matter what. There’s all kinds of wildlife in the Gulf.”
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