ST PETERSBURG TIMES (Florida) 18 November 06 Alligator stolen from mini-golf course, again (Cristina Silva)
Clearwater: The sandy footprints near the entrance Congo River Adventure Golf Course were the first clue Friday that something was amiss.
By the time arriving employees saw the drag marks in the sand near the alligator pit, they had guessed what had happened: Someone had broken in and taken an alligator — again.
Sure enough, the security camera footage later confirmed their suspicions.
Only, unlike the gator snatching about four years ago, these thieves returned the reptile.
Or maybe they did.
Four alligators are unaccounted for. It’s trick to count the elusive critters.
“It is kind of hard to tell,” said manager Stephen Baker. “In the video, they took one out but then you can also see them put one back.”
The poor quality video shows a group of five men and women near the front entrance of the park at 12:57 a.m. A moat filled with young alligators is below them.
Then one of the men jumps the railing and crouches on a small island in the water. Using a fishing net, he tries to ensnare one of the reptiles. One of his male friends follows, hopping over the fence to help.
When it becomes clear that the net is not working, one man reaches into the water and pulls out a 3-foot alligator.
The group flees with the alligator at 1:48 a.m., but four minutes later they return and drop it into the water before running away again.
Yet, when Baker tried to account for the 24 resident alligators this weekend, he could only find 20. He thinks four could be hiding, but he has to wait to find out.
In the meantime, Clearwater police have been notified and no suspects have been identified.
The first time someone swiped an alligator was in 2002, when a young man took one and then released it by a creek near his home.
The golf course decided not to press charges against him, but Baker said he might not be so forgiving this time.
“This a dangerous prank,” he said. “These people are not particularly concerned about being bitten or anything. They just want the gators.”
Alligator stolen from mini-golf course