By Florida Bill One thing about living in Florida, you can never predict when an alligator might turn up as an uninvited guest. A few days ago, a Boca Raton Florida home owner stepped from his door into the sunshine of his backyard and prepared for a swim.
As he looked at the swirling, inviting blue water, he was taken aback to see an eight-foot long gator cruising about the bottom of the pool. Gathering his aplomb, homeowner and father, Matt Fino, notified his family of the unwelcome fellow, and his wife, kids and a small dog all came to take a look. Police and wildlife trappers were called and hustled to the home, where they removed the interloper and sent him (or her) to a place where gators can live and not cause problems. 
Gators have actually been around Florida and the southern states for a very long time--and they don't seem to have evolved much. They have a decidedly prehistoric look about them. Some 1.8 million of them are said to be residing in the magnificent Everglades which covers one and one-half millions acres in the central portion of the state. They wander off from time to time, moving about via the canals which weave in and out of many communities.
Gators have actually been around Florida and the southern states for a very long time--and they don't seem to have evolved much. They have a decidedly prehistoric look about them. Some 1.8 million of them are said to be residing in the magnificent Everglades which covers one and one-half millions acres in the central portion of the state. They wander off from time to time, moving about via the canals which weave in and out of many communities.
And believe it or not, some persons might even look upon a big toothy gator as a pet---just keep him well fed and away from some one's foot or the family dog and he can be part of the family. And his digs could be anything from a fenced in muddy pen behind a barn, a tub, or even special quarters provided by the rich and famous.
Way back in 1826, America's sixth president, John Quincy Adams, received an alligator as a gift from the Marquis de Lafayette, a general in the American Revolutionary war and a leader of the Garde Nationale during the French Revolution. Apparently he was both a friend of Adams and an admirer of dangerous reptiles. He presented the big-toothed fellow to President Adams who resided in the White House on Pennsylvania avenue.
Historians tell us that Adams developed affection and a healthy respect for the critter which he then kept in a bathtub in the East Room. The President enjoyed introducing guests and dignitaries to his pet and was tickled when they first came upon it and reacted nervously, unaccustomed to seeing such a critter sitting in a bathtub in the nation's most famous house. That was President Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, America's second President and the successor to George Washington.
About 100 years later, in 1931, President Herbert Hoover had the company of two alligators in the White House. It wasn't exactly Hoover who gave them a home there--it was his son Allan Henry Hoover who enjoyed and promoted his pets. Allan had charge of two gators, which he kept in a bathtub. From time to time, so the story goes, the gators would find their way onto the White House grounds where they would slither about sunning themselves. Occasionally, when surprised White House visitors stumbled upon the alligators, they would stare a bit and then report their presence to the Secret Service. Allan would be notified and his wards would be returned to their tub.
Actually, it isn't too unusual for alligators to show up in a pool in sunny Florida, like the recent incident in Boca Raton, as these intimidating animals do get around. Florida with its everglades is a maze of intersecting canals and waterways and stories abound of their turning up in unusual places. It is the rare Florida golfer who has not bumped into one on the links, sometimes even on the greens.
Just a few days ago, a four foot alligator crawled under a car in a Sarasota shopping center while the patron was in the mall. A couple of sheriff's deputies corralled him and had him moved to an "appropriate wetlands."
Last July, a ten-foot alligator made its way to the dugout of a baseball field in Port Charlotte. It unnerved players as they arrived for a game, but after the animal was rousted, the game was played. In 2016 there was a report of a Florida congressman who attended a funeral on Merritt Island and when he prepared to leave found a big guy under his automobile. An animal squad relocated the gator, and the congressman left safely with just a story to tell.
In April of 2016, in Sherlington, Louisiana, a homeowner was greeted by a sizable intruder behind an easy chair in his living room. As you might guess, he was a bit unnerved, and called police. A wandering gator from the bayous, or maybe a neighbor's pet out for a walk?
Spring--mating season-- is undoubtedly the most likely time to see male alligators on the move, looking for females to make baby gators with. They are often seen stopping traffic, cutting across backyards to get from pond to pond, and just generally making themselves obnoxious in residential neighborhoods.
At one time alligators were approaching extinction and were an endangered species. As a result, hunting was prohibited and their habitats protected. No more. The alligator has made a dramatic recovery and the "endangered" designation was removed in 1987. About the only predator an adult gator has is an especially large python, and there has been evidence of a few epic battles between the two in the Everglades. Usually there is no winner.
So of course, the presence of gators today is way up and licensed hunting is now a sport and the sale of alligator meat and skin has become a respectable industry in the South.
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