Watch: Florida trappers struggle to pull massive crocodile from family's pool
Officials say that seeing a crocodile in Florida is rare and lucky. The sight of one was not rare enough for a homeowner who found the monster in his pool. He watched the croc battle two trappers.
Toothy surprise: 10-foot croc takes a dip in family pool
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water... A 10-foot crocodile decided to take a dip in this Florida family's pool. Watch trappers wrestle with the beast and move it back to a "pool" of its own.
PLANTATION KEY, Fla. – One Florida family got a toothy surprise over the weekend when they found a 10-foot crocodile taking a dip in their pool.
The lucky homeowner called wildlife officials at 2 a.m. to remedy the rare occurrence.
It turns out the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission has "crocodile response agents" for the rare event. They dispatched two trappers to the "pool party," and the croc's removal was captured on video.
The trapper wrestles with the thrashing reptile.
(Pesky Critters Wildlife Control/AMAZING ANIMALS+ /TMX / FOX Weather)
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The footage shows the men easily lasso the monster, but then the struggle starts as they try to pull the crocodile out of the pool. It spun, thrashed and splashed.
"You now have a slippery quarterdeck here," one trapper warns the other as he rushes around the pool to get better purchase on the rope.
The trapper released the croc's jaws and jumps away.
(Pesky Critters Wildlife Control/AMAZING ANIMALS+ /TMX / FOX Weather)
After tense minutes, they finally muscled the croc onto the deck and secured its jaws with duct tape.
A sheriff helped the agents move the animal to a "pool" more fitting its size, the ocean. The trapper tentatively pulled the tape off the jaws and jumped away, coaxing the carnivore into the water with his foot.
‘Consider yourself lucky’?
Despite what might be a frightening ordeal, the FWC says the homeowner got to see quite the rare sight.
"If you see an American crocodile, consider yourself lucky - crocodiles are rare and reclusive and few Floridians get an opportunity to observe them in the wild!" the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission's "Living with American crocodiles" site said. "Due to the American crocodile’s shy and reclusive nature, conflicts between them and people are extremely rare in Florida."
File: An American crocodile on a riverbank.
(Arterra/Universal Images Group / Getty Images)
Unfortunately for the homeowner, that might not be the croc's only visit.
"Moving problem animals, however is often unsuccessful because crocodiles can, and usually do, return to their capture site, even traveling over long distances to get there," states the FWC. "Moving (the animal) usually results in only a temporary solution to the problem."
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Florida is the only state in the nation where you can see wild crocodiles. The animal was listed as endangered in 1975. Today, the species is listed as threatened in Florida after the population went from a few hundred to around 2,000. The FWC calls the American crocodile's rebound, a conservation success story.