Deputies and wildlife officials moved the 'massive guy to safer waterways'
Florida authorities remove 'massive' 12-foot, 600-pound alligator
Lee County Sheriff's Office deputies and agents with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission removed the giant gator from a shopping mall property and brought the "massive guy to safer waterways." (LCO via Facebook)
Police and wildlife officials responded to a Florida shopping mall, after last-minute Christmas shoppers noticed a gigantic alligator swimming in a nearby pond.
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to the Coconut Point Mall in Estero, Florida, where the alligator was found wandering among the mall's palm-studded outdoor shopping center.
Upon arrival, deputies found a 12-foot gator that weighed a whopping 600 pounds.
According to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC), the state record for the length of an American alligator is 14 feet, 3.5 inches, a male gator from Lake Washington in Brevard County.
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Lee County, Fla., deputies respond to reports of a 12-foot, 600-pound alligator on the loose at the Coconut Point Mall in Estero on Thursday. (Lee County Sheriff's Office)
In a second video obtained by FOX 35, the burly beast is seen by the water's edge as deputies begin to probe the gator.
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In the following video, FWC officials helped the deputies capture the giant gator and load it on to a truck as shoppers stopped in awe of the beast.
WATCH:
Authorities said that the deputies removed the "massive guy to safer waterways."
According to authorities, the gator appears to be an older alligator, due to its size.
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"He’s massive!" the sheriff's office said. "They’re saying he could be pretty old too based on weight/length"
"There is never a dull moment while on patrol here in Lee County, eh?" the police added.
Alligators are a common sight in Florida. (Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images/File)
The law enforcement agency joked on its social media pages that if anyone is "chompin’ at the bit to join the team," they promise to give them a "great workout."
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Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
She is a native of Massachusetts and is based in Orlando, Florida.
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