Alligator finds home in restaurant retention pond, evades trappers

Gator hanging out near a Seminole restaurant

FOX 13's Kailey Tracy introduces us to Mr. Pickles, a gator that has been living in a retention pond outside a Seminole restaurant.

SEMINOLE, Fla. - A restaurant in Seminole has a regular customer, but he prefers the retention pond to a booth.

"He has become quite the member of the team," Brett Pope, the General Manager of the Seminole location of Five Bucks Drinkery, said.

The alligator affectionately known as Mr. Pickles found his way into their retention pond, Pope said, after one of last year’s hurricanes. They think he got there through the storm drains.

"I wasn't shocked that he was here," Pope said. "I am a little surprised that he's taken home here, though. I thought he would find his way out," he said.

Instead, Mr. Pickles made himself right at home, growing from barely two and a half feet to about five feet long.

What they're saying:

"He hasn't been a nuisance in any regard. We tell the servers and bartenders and other managers, ‘please advise customers not to feed the gator. There is a wild habitat underneath there. There are a lot of fish, frogs, turtles, birds, and he's thriving down there,’" Pope said.

"I think that he's living a really good life. I would want maybe one day for him to find his way out because he would probably, or she would like to mate," he said.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a gator may be considered a nuisance if it’s at least four feet long and a threat to people, pets or property. Pope and the FWC said a licensed trapper has been there several times, but isn’t able to get Mr. Pickles.

"When the rescuers come to try to get him, he goes into the storm drain and hides there all night until they leave. So, he's definitely smarter than people think," Pope said. "Mr. Pickles isn’t saying later gator and packing his bags any time soon, so while he’s here, respect him from a distance."

"He’s a beautiful creature. We’ve watched him grow. He's not going to be here forever. The plan is to find him a private lake or take him back by the rescuers that are actively trying to relocate him, and they have my support. We've been working hand in hand, so this can happen. But while he's here, just respect him from a distance and appreciate the wildlife of Florida," Pope said.

The FWC says if you’re concerned about an alligator, call their toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286), and they’ll send a nuisance alligator trapper to resolve the situation.

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Dig deeper:

In the meantime, the FWC says keep a safe distance, keep pets on a leash and away from the water’s edge, swim only in designated swimming areas during daylight hours without your pets and never feed an alligator. It’s not just dangerous, the FWC says, it’s illegal. Feeding alligators can cause them to lose their natural wariness, and they’ll start to associate people with food availability.

This can cause an alligator to become a nuisance and need to be removed from the wild.

Alligators more than four feet aren’t released into the wild for several reasons, according to the FWC.

Nuisance alligators are usually fed by humans and, again, associate humans with food, decreasing their natural wariness. Relocated alligators more than four feet can try to return to their capture site, which can create problems for people or other alligators along the way. If an alligator successfully returns, capturing it again would be necessary and likely more difficult, the FWC says.

Relocating nuisance alligators to remote locations with healthy alligator populations with established social structures could cause fighting, possibly resulting in the death of either the resident or introduced alligators, according to the FWC.

Alligators under four feet long can be relocated, but the FWC critically reviews each call to make sure it’s appropriate to relocate.

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