Karen Kress Facebook
A Florida motorist drove down I-95 with an alligator strapped to the bumper of his car over the Labor Day weekend. And questions have been posted on social media … a lot of questions.
It happened last Saturday, September 3, in Brevard County, and according to Tampa resident Karen Kress, she was one of the drivers who witnessed the unusual spectacle.
“Unbelievable!” Kress said of his initial reaction. “30 years ago I moved here for the nature and I have seen hundreds of crocodiles. However, I never imagined seeing one on the highway!”
Kress shared the image on Facebook, where the huge crocodile appears, whose size is almost twice the width of the car.
Other motorists also seemed surprised, Kress said, and took photos as well.
The driver’s identity is unknown, but it is believed he may be someone involved in Florida’s alligator hunting season, which runs from Aug. 15 to Aug. 1. of November.
Alligators average 10 feet in length in Florida, which makes it difficult to fit them inside a vehicle. Moreover, they smell like the swampy waters where they live.
Therefore, transporting a legally hunted alligator in the back of a car is legal throughout the state, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Kress posted the photo with an ironic invitation: “I accept suggestions for captions.” Thousands of people have responded, offering endless puns and jokes about the hunter’s situation that obviously defies Uber’s rules.
“Well, he’s not in the cockpit,” Andrew Armbruster wrote on Facebook.
“Obviously it wasn’t going to fit in the passenger seat,” Robert Lockwood hung up.
The photo also greatly upset animal rights activists, with some saying it was about animal cruelty.
Other visitors speculated that it could be a joke by the driver.
“Is it really a crocodile or a rubber one to use in the pool?” asked Erin McGirt Chantry.
“That crocodile doesn’t look real!” Kristine Tragesser hung up.
Kress said he got close enough to get a good look at the crocodile, adding that it was “completely true.”
“Although I am a vegetarian, I have no problem if it was a legal hunt,” she added.
Every year, Florida issues 7,000 alligator permits to control a population that already numbers 1.3 million, according to the FWC. Alligators live in all 67 counties of the state.
Translation of Jorge Posada
This story was originally published on September 7, 2022 10:17 a.m.