Florida police block 12-foot alligator from walking across highway

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COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. - Why didn’t the alligator cross the road? Because of the police.

Florida residents have become accustomed to dealing with alligators, but there are still situations that catch them off guard. Recently, a large gator made it past a fence and was spotted near a major highway.

Local police officers had to respond to the scene in order to prevent the gator from walking into traffic.

The Florida Highway Patrol’s Troop F posted a picture of the gator to its Twitter page that show a 12-foot alligator walking towards the shoulder of a busy highway. A long string of cars can be seen in the distance.

The highway patrol wrote that troopers were trying to keep the gator from entering Interstate 75’s travel lanes. The post indicates that the gator was spotted near mile marker 78, which is in Collier County.

This particular stretch of road is identified as "gator alley."

While there are protective fences along the highway, several commenters pointed out that larger gators are capable of climbing up and over these fences.

Fortunately, the gator was prevented from causing any serious incidents, although traffic was backed up for a bit.

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Alligators are a common sight in Florida and are present in every county in the state.

Fox News previously reported that golfers at the Tara Gold and Country Club in Bradenton, Fla., witnessed an alligator walk across the golf course with a fish in its mouth.

The gator had emerged from one of the course’s lakes, walked past several golfers with the fish and then walked into one of the other lakes. The scene prompted jokes about the gator taking its lunch to-go.

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