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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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.
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.
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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