Land O’ Lakes homeowner gets surprise visit from alligator at front door

Gator makes surprise visit at Land O' Lakes home

A Land O’ Lakes homeowner got a surprise visit this week when an unexpected guest showed up at the front door, and it wasn’t a neighbor.

LAND O' LAKES, Fla. - A Land O’ Lakes homeowner got a surprise visit this week when an unexpected guest showed up at the front door, and it wasn’t a neighbor.

Dave Zahm said he was watching television when he heard a tapping sound at the front door of his home. Curious, he looked toward the glass door and noticed a blurry shape moving in the lower corner.

What they're saying:

"At first I thought, what is that?" Zahm said. "A dog, a turtle, a gator?"

READ: Florida gator caught on camera popping out of pond, charging at fisherman: 'That's my foot!'

Zahm pulled up his doorbell camera on his phone, and the mystery was quickly solved.

Courtesy: Dave Zahm

"It was definitely a gator," Zahm said.

Zahm says that after a short visit, the alligator wandered away from the front door, walked around his yard and eventually headed toward a nearby pond, perhaps to join another scaly friend.

Dig deeper:

Encounters like this are not uncommon in Florida, especially in neighborhoods built near lakes, ponds and wetlands where alligators naturally live.