An elderly woman feared a burglar had broken into her home – but found an 11-foot alligator in her kitchen instead.
Mary Wischhusen, a 77-year-old woman living in Clearwater, Florida, woke up around 3:30 am on Friday after she heard a loud crash. When she went to check, she found the reptile slithering in her kitchen.
The alligator had broken a glass window and knocked over the furniture.
Ms Wischhusen called Clearwater Police Department for help, and they attended the scene along with an animal trapper.
“It’s unusual for a gator to break in like this,” says Clearwater Police Department communications officer, Joelle Castelli. “It was a dangerous situation.
“It was hissing in an aggressive manner. We did attend with an animal trapper who secured the animal and took it away.”
A newspaper delivery woman first spotted the alligator trying to get into the sewer and then breaking into the house and called the police.
“The homeowner then phoned because she thought there was an intruder,” said Ms Castelli. “She ran downstairs and found an alligator in her kitchen.”
There are around 1.3 million alligators living in Florida, most of which are wild animals which live in swamps and shallow waters.
The creatures often come into close contact with humans and there have been many documented incidents of alligators finding their way into swimming pools and gardens.
On this occasion, the animal trapper was able to tape the alligator’s mouth shut.
It was taken away and will be released back into the wild.
