OCOEE, FL (WKMG/CNN) – While wildlife trappers tried to remove an alligator from a Florida neighborhood, the reptile managed to hit at least two of the trappers in the head, knocking one out.
Neighbors say dozens of people were outside watching as an 8-foot alligator roamed along the front yards of homes in an Ocoee, FL, neighborhood.
"It walked for 20 steps, and then it just kind of sat down and walked for 20 steps and then sat down. It was kind of odd to watch," neighbor Walter Day said.
The reptile finally lay down on a doorstep before Florida Fish and Wildlife officers were able to get there.
One neighbor almost opened her front door to it.
"We were like, 'No, go back in,' so she closed the door," Day said.
As trappers hauled the creature away, neighbors thought the show was over – until the tied-up alligator lashed out at its captors.
"The gator flipped back and head-butted the guy, knocked him to the ground. At that point, it was kind of free and whacked the police officers with its tail," Day said.
The trapper who was hit in the head was reportedly knocked unconscious.
Experts say alligators usually only come out of the water when they’re looking for a mate or food.
"We don't really have any bodies of water here in the neighborhood, so to see it come from some distance to being in the neighborhood, it was pretty surprising,” neighbor Jim Jarrells said.
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