GAINESVILLE SUN (Florida) 18 October 05 Alligator gets taste for Zaxby's spicy chicken (Cindy Swirko)
A big bite of lunch was snatched from two women and their children as they picnicked by Lake Alice Sunday.
The hungry interloper was an alligator that splashed out of the water, sent the families scrambling and made off with their Zaxby's spicy chicken.
"It was just bizarre. We've been there before and we know to watch for alligators - we grew up here," Garrett Bell said. "We were watching him get closer and closer, and then he kind of went away from us. All of a sudden he popped up, got on all four legs and crawled up the bank. We left boxes of chicken on the blanket and he went crazy."
The alligator chomped some chicken, went back in the water with it and then came back for more.
Bell said the scare happened as she picnicked with her two children, eighth-grader Haley and fifth-grader Emilee; Melinda McCoy and her daughter, eighth-grader Holly; a friend of the girls, Carly Brasfield; and Max, the McCoy's Maltese dog.
They were at a grassy area across from the bat house at about 2:30 p.m.
Bell said they were just inches from the bank. The gator was 6 to 8 feet long.
"He was less than two feet from us. We booked it. I am not kidding - we were on a high for the rest of the day," she said. "We didn't call anybody. We know what happens with the trappers. I think what's happening is that people are feeding them at Lake Alice."
Signs at Lake Alice, including one in the water where the group was picnicking, state that it is unlawful to feed alligators. But Karen Parker of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Lake City regional office, said feeding alligators is a problem statewide.
The practice leads alligators to associate food with humans, which can result in dangerous encounters.
"If you know there are gators, it's best to keep your dog on a leash and stay away from the water. Alligators are very visual. It probably saw the dog and came up and said, oh, there's something better there," she said. "The main thing is, don't feed them because you are signing their death warrant when you feed them."
Alligators that attack pets or people, roam around on land near people or otherwise show little fear of people can be deemed nuisance alligators by the state. Trappers are called, and they typically kill the alligator.
If the reptile is 4 feet or smaller it can be relocated, but that is not done for biological reasons with the bigger gators. Also small alligators have no commercial value for the trappers, who earn money on the meat and skins.
Alligator gets taste for Zaxby's spicy chicken