Sneaky alligator hides out in garage, scares unsuspecting homeowner

A Florida man stumbled across quite a surprise in his garage Wednesday morning.

Hank Stout said he went into the garage of his Merritt Island home to search for a box and noticed what he thought was a realistic-looking alligator. It turned out, it was a realistic-looking gator because it was a real alligator.

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Stout said at first he thought someone put a fake gator in his garage as a prank, and he almost decided to reach out and touch it. He's sure glad he didn't.

When the gator started hissing at him, Stout said he quickly realized that the 6-foot long reptile was no fake and called 9-1-1.

Wildlife trappers soon responded to wrangle the gator. The experts said it’s likely the gator was looking for a hiding spot while trying to travel from one body of water to another.

Trappers said that gators tend to be on the move more during mating season, which begins soon.

Stout said he thinks the gator might have walked into the garage door Tuesday night when he took his son to a Boy Scouts meeting because he forgot to close the door.

He said he won't make that mistake again.

Cox Media Group