Warm weather draws more alligators to residential pools

SOUTH LAKELAND (FOX 13) - Laura Lear just got a shocking lesson in the real Florida from an alligator that slipped into the pool at her home.

"I don't think there are any words to describe how you feel when you come home and see a nine-foot gator in your pool," she told FOX 13.

It was a 300 pound male.

On Tuesday, her husband said he saw bubbles in the pool. Since they live on a golf course, they are used to golf balls ripping the netting and plopping into their pool. This time, it was nothing close to that.

"He blended in, camouflaged in, but you knew what it was," Lear said.

When the trapper arrived, the pool churned with waves and foam as he lassoed the feisty beast.

"It was pretty nerve wracking," Lear said. "At any point, I thought, if that lasso comes off... that gator could slip right outta that pool and we were gonna have a problem."

However, the trapper wrestled the alligator out of the pool and pulled it out of the pool area.

The Lears later found out  the gator was living in a nearby pond on the golf course and decided to wander on over.

Florida Fish and Wildlife officials said they weren't surprised by what the Lears found. 

"Any time we have warm weather, that's what's going to happen," said Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission spokesman, Gary Morse.

As the weather grows warmer, anyone with a pool may want to check the bottom before jumping in.