Seeing an alligator in Florida isn’t odd.
But seeing one under your car or in your swimming pool is, and how much people have been spotting them in these unusual places is on the rise, as of late.
The reason: hunger and lust.
With the rise of temperatures, so rises an alligator’s metabolism.
Usually, when they are seen outside a pond or water’s edge, it’s because they’ve had to go on a search for food to fulfill their increased appetite.
"They have to find some food so that's when we'll find them on sidewalks and people's pools," Brian Norris of Florida Fish and Wildlife told Fox 4 in Fort Myers. "They're really just out there browsing around."
It’s also mating season for the reptiles, which means they’re out looking for a mate.
With that comes stories of people finding gators just where they don’t want them.
Like, under their car at a Wing House:
It’s alligator mating season. This one looking for love in the parking lot of Buffalo Wings & Rings. FWC en route. pic.twitter.com/gsUzpAW8W0
— North Port Police (@NorthPortPolice) April 13, 2019
Or taking it’s time to cross a busy road in Fort Meyers:
MASSIVE FLORIDA GATOR!🐊 - Chelsea Brinson captured this huge gator talking a stroll in Fort Myers today! The video quickly went viral. The caption read: "Hey there buddy." #OnlyInFlorida pic.twitter.com/jEV31yGetj
— News4JAX (@wjxt4) April 12, 2019
Another family in Palm Beach Gardens found a 300-pound alligator had managed to go for a swim in their swimming pool despite the fact that the yard was completely fenced in.
Yet another gator was recently spotted lounging on a Florida beach.
The state could continue seeing an increase in alligator sightings all the way through June.