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SkyFOX's view: Gator gets cuffed on beach
Wildlife officers wrangle an alligator seen swimming along a South Florida beach.
HILLSBORO BEACH, Fla. - Beachgoers in South Florida were in for a wild surprise Monday afternoon when an alligator was spotted floating in the surf at Hillsboro Beach.
The gator was estimated to be about 6 feet long.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials responded to the scene, catching the gator and moving it to a safer location.
Wildlife officials believe it had gotten lost in a canal and ended up in the ocean by accident.
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Hillsboro Beach is about halfway between West Palm Beach and Miami. A crocodile was spotted south of the same area about a month ago, but it’s much easier for them to live in salt water than alligators. Gators, however, can tolerate salty ocean water for a limited time.
"You know, this is Florida, anything can happen," one beachgoer told WSVN.