As if Hurricane Milton’s devastating winds and storm surge were not enough to worry about, a wildlife expert is warning of another danger— hungry alligators.
Christopher Gillette, who operates an animal sanctuary in northern Florida, warned his Instagram followers that the alligators “are going to be on the move in the floodwaters” in the wake of the storm.
“Make sure you’re staying out of the floodwaters the best you can,” Gillette said in a video crouched beside an alligator.
“Obviously there’s emergency situations, people are going to do what they got to do, but if you can try, stay out,” he said.
One terrifying video, obtained by ABC7 News, shows a North Fort Myers resident dodging the teeth of a massive alligator outside of his home on Wednesday night.
The man opens their car door and the alligator can be seen leaping out of the floodwaters chomping down on the vehicle just feet away from him.
“That was a big f–king alligator that just bit our tire!” he yells, jumping back.
During the storm, the gators “hunker down and hold their breath for six hours at a time,” Gillette said.
But once the storm passes, the floodwaters are “going to be like an open highway for them,” according to the conservationist.
While gators typically want nothing to do with humans “they do like small animals like your pets,” he said and urged those impacted to keep their dogs out of the water.
He also urged people not to touch the snakes, which will be flooded out of their burroughs: “Keep in mind the majority of venomous snake bites happen when people are trying to kill the snake, leave them be.”
“And please be compassionate to the wildlife,” he added. “A lot of them are going to be displaced by the storm they’re trying to survive just like you are.”
