Residents in Pasco County, Florida, came across an unusual passenger waiting at a local bus stop on Thursday afternoon. Stretched out at the base of the stop sign was a large alligator, snoozing in the shade.
"Why did the Alligator cross the road? To get to the bus stop on time," GoPasco County Public Transportation wrote on its Twitter and Facebook pages.
Florida is home to an estimated 1.3 million alligators, according to the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC). They are mostly found in freshwater lakes, ponds, swamps and slow-moving rivers, although often they will venture into residential areas in search of food and a mate.
Female alligators rarely exceed 10 feet in length, but the males can grow to lengths of over 14 feet, weighing over 1,000 pounds. The FWC says that any alligator above 4 feet can pose a threat to people and property.
Alligators are opportunistic feeders, which means their diet consists of prey items that are easily accessible to them, whether that's fish, small mammals, birds or even other alligators.
Alligator bites are very rare, with only around 10 bites on average across the state every year between 2017 and 2021. However, very occasionally, these interactions between reptile and humans are fatal. In February 2023, an 85-year-old woman was killed by a 10-foot alligator while walking her dog at a retirement community in Fort Pierce.
The alligator at the bus stop in Pasco County was not hunting for its next meal, though. Rather, it was lying in a shady spot to cool itself down.
Alligators are cold-blooded, which means they cannot generate their own body heat. This also means that the reptiles cannot internally cool themselves down and need to instead seek cooler environments to regulate their body temperature. This could be by immersing themselves in cool water, crawling underground or seeking a nice shady spot out of the sun.
The post has been viewed thousands of times on social media, with several users commenting on these "alligator antics."
"For the shade. All the shade trees were cut down," posted one user.
"Just another day in Florida..." wrote another.
If you see an alligator in your neighborhood, the FWC recommends keeping a safe distance and keeping all pets securely on a leash. Never attempt to feed an alligator as this can teach them to associate humans with food and make them more aggressive.
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