LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. – A Lehigh Acres lake filled with alligators now has two less.
A man stepped out his back door only for an alligator to make a beeline right for him yesterday evening. That man believes someone has been feeding the gators in the lake behind his house.
Along Lakeview Drive in Lehigh Acres, Philip Ferrier, father to a 6-year-old son, is well aware of the gators in the lake behind his house.
“Kids walk along the shoreline fishing all the time, and there is a park right there at the end where they are sitting there fishing also,” Ferrier said.
However, last night was the first time he’s felt threatened by them.
“Just walked out the back door, and the Gator made a beeline for the shore towards our house,” he said.
He said a 7-foot-long alligator crawled up on the shoreline just feet away from him, with another lingering nearby.
“Somebody has been feeding them, they are getting too friendly with people,” he said.
That’s why he called the sheriff’s office, who sent FWC and a nuisance alligator trapper. With Phil’s help, they removed two from the lake.
“We caught 2 of them, 7-foot-6 and 8-foot-2,” Phil said.
FWC said it’s actively investigating feeding violations in the lake, which can be punishable with a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail. Meanwhile, Phil said there are more still to be caught in the lake.
“They mentioned coming back out, they’ve got a 9-footer in there and another 7-footer it looks like,” he said.
