14 DAY TRIAL // A Florida couple were awaken at 4 a.m. on Thursday night by a strange noise coming from their backyard in Bradenton, and they were surprised to discover that it was caused by an eight-foot (2.4-meter) alligator, which was swimming in their pool.
Sharon Bente initially thought the noise was actually a thunderstorm blowing her patio furniture around, but, when she went out to investigate, she saw the huge reptile slipping through the water.
The alligator had torn through a screen enclosing the pool and patio area and took a late-night dip in the pool.
“I saw something that is not usually in the pool along with the little floaty, and it turned out to be an alligator,” Sharon told ABC News.
The woman quickly returned to the house and woke up her husband John. They called the Sheriff's Office, and a trapper was sent to remove the reptile, which was later taken to a farm in Arcadia.
“It was quite an evening,” John said. “I'm sure there's other alligators. I'm sure I'm going to be sleeping with my - with at least one eye open for a while.”
Residents of the area say alligators have been using their neighborhood for years as a cut through between the Braden River and a nearby lake.