Overview
- The family’s home camera sent a motion alert just before 4 a.m., and they watched the alligator sit at their front door from inside the house.
- The animal was measured at about 7 feet, 6 inches and became agitated as household members shone a flashlight at it.
- Palm Bay police responded after a 911 call and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission arranged for a contracted trapper through the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program to remove the gator before sunrise.
- No one was injured and officials reminded residents to keep distance from alligators, leash pets, avoid night swimming, and call the FWC Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866‑FWC‑GATOR for threats to people, pets, or property.
- FWC says sightings near neighborhood retention ponds are common in Florida, which it estimates has about 1.3 million alligators, and the incident may prompt more neighbors to use motion cameras and report nuisance gators to authorities.