WATCH: Massive alligator runs onto Orlando soccer field during team practice

Massive alligator runs onto soccer field in Orlando during team practice

Players with Toronto FC got a real taste of the Sunshine State during a practice session in Orlando this week when a giant alligator interrupted them.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Players with Toronto FC got a real taste of the Sunshine State during a practice session in Orlando on Monday when a giant alligator interrupted them.

The team joked that they had signed the reptile, dubbed Ale Gator, tweeting: "The deal was completed using our newly acquired GAM (Gator Acquisition Money)."

The alligator is seen creeping up to the field and then starts running, sending the players screaming in a panic.

Gator was not included in the team’s starting lineup against Mexico’s Cruz Azul they joked.

The Canadian team has relocated to Orlando for the Major League Soccer season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Gator mating season typically begins in May or June, but their courtship starts in early April. And that means more alligators sightings as the reptiles venture out in search of their mates.

By late June or early July, female gators will lay between 32 to 46 eggs. Incubation periods for alligators take about 60 to 65 days, and baby gators will be born in late August or early September, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Watch FOX 35 News for the latest Florida stories.