CLERMONT, Fla. — A large alligator gave sheriff’s deputies a run for their money last week when it was spotted lurking outside a home in Clermont, using what appeared to be some surprisingly strategic moves to avoid capture, Florida Today reported.
In a video released by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, drone and bodycam footage show the alligator stationing itself near a front door, watching closely as a deputy approached with a rope.
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Seizing a moment, it crawled into some bushes, attempting to hide. Then, in a moment that looked deliberate, it pushed open a gate, passed through and let it close behind, as if trying to escape detection.
Despite the gator’s clever efforts, deputies managed to rope it up. But the reptile had one last move: it performed the notorious “death roll,” a twisting attack maneuver typically used in water to subdue prey. This time, the gator spun on land, tangling itself in rope until a deputy jumped on its back and secured it.
“Not our first call like this … but it’s always a Florida classic!” the sheriff’s office stated in the video release.
The alligator was transported in the back of a patrol vehicle for relocation.
