Later, gator! Video attracts crowd, endangers giant alligator

LAKELAND, Fla. — Video of a massive alligator caught walking through a Florida nature preserve in front of stunned onlookers has prompted crowds of people hoping to catch their own glimpse.

The video taken by a visitor to the Circle B Bar Reserve on Sunday shows the gator estimated to be about 12-feet long lumbering across a trail.

Officials are concerned the increased attention brought on by the video could pose a danger to the gators. Polk County Natural Resources Director Jeff Spence says they’ve already asked one person to leave who ran off a trail hoping for a picture of the animal.

If a person is involved in an incident with a gator, Spence says the animal will most likely have to be killed.

He says they don’t want to have to do that “because someone is doing something they shouldn’t.”