MIAMI HERALD (Florida) 21 May 06 Alligator too close for comfort - After spotting an alligator swimming in a lake behind their homes, residents had the predator removed. But in light of recent attacks, they fear more might be lurking. (Carli Teproff)
Molly and Pumkin love to chase each other around their expansive backyard in Northeast Miami-Dade.
They'd run up and down an incline leading to a lake in their backyard. But recently the King Charles Cavalier Spaniels' owners, Noelle and Neal Hirschfeld, have been scared to let their puppies roam free.
Lurking in the lake behind the house on the 2200 block of Northeast 211 Street was a nine-foot alligator -- and they fear there could be more.
''We are petrified to go outside or let our puppies out there,'' Noelle Hirschfeld said. ``It's scary to think what could be hiding out there.''
On Monday, Todd Hardwick with Pesky Critters came out to the normally quiet Highland Lakes neighborhood and trapped the 9-foot, 4-inch alligator. The lake, like several in the area, is fed by a tributary of Snake Creek Canal.
''Being that it was so far east, that was a very large alligator,'' said Hardwick, who noted that most of the larger alligators are found west of Interstate 95. ``The big size is a concern when it's in a neighborhood like that.''
With the recent alligator frenzy -- three woman were attacked and killed in the past week -- the neighborhood in Northeast Dade is on edge.
''I never thought about putting up a fence before now,'' said Brian Kantor, of the 2100 block of Northeast 23 Avenue. ``I have been swimming in that lake for nine years.''
Kantor's neighbor John Auspitz said he had spotted the alligator ''resting its jaw'' on his neighbor's backyard May 11 and began calling Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which led him to Hardwick.
Hardwick, who is contracted by Fish and Wildlife, came to Auspitz's backyard Monday afternoon but had to go to the other side of the lake to get the animal.
Hardwick said the 500-pound creature ''put up a pretty good fight,'' and it took about an hour to get out.
With several conditions contributing to alligators encroaching on homes -- dry conditions and lessening habitat -- Hardwick has been busy traversing the county ridding waters of the predators. On Wednesday he trapped one of the largest alligators he's caught in the county. It had snuggled up in a canal behind businesses on Northwest 41st Street at 97th Avenue in Doral. That it weighed about 800 pounds and measured about 11 feet may have saved the alligator's life. Because of its size, it will be relocated.
''There isn't a lake or canal in Florida that has not or will not at some point have a gator in it,'' Hardwick said.
Auspitz, however, who has lived behind the lake for nine years, said he had never seen one before, and was amazed by the trapping.
''It was an incredible sight,'' he said. ``The thing was huge . . . much bigger than we thought.''
Auspitz said he doesn't think there are more alligators in the lake, but said he is going to be more cautious.
''I don't think I'll be swimming in there for a while,'' he said, ``but I think I am ready to get back in the boat.'
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