APOPKA, Fla. – The only thing you could hear was the birds chirping as a group of a bicyclists watched a group of alligators in silence.
"It was just like, (we were) in awe when we were watching them," said Dennis Jones, who caught the sight on video. "It was so interesting to see such a concentration right there. It was amazing."
It was something Jones said he's never seen before.
Jones, who owns Winter Garden Wheel Works bike shop, said he takes a group of cyclists out to the 34-mile, state-owned trail along Lake Apopka at least once a week.
"As we got closer, there was more and more and more,” he said Thursday. “I bet you could count 50. I have never seen that many. I've seen maybe 10 to 15 in that pond before."
He posted the video to the bike shop's Facebook page, and it quickly gained traction online. It's how Apopka resident Sara Strickland saw it.
"For the past couple of years, I have been (infatuated) with gators, and my brother knows this, and so he showed me that video,” Strickland said. “And I said, ‘I got to get out there.’”
They took the airboat out on Lake Apopka on Thursday evening to get to the pond, which is only accessible by boat or by bike.
"I was terrified,” Strickland said. “I told my brother, 'OK, I'm scared. Let's go.' The one that we saw, it was about 12 feet, and we were like, 15 feet from them.”
News 6 called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to see if officials know why so many gators were in this one pond, and to see if there is any concern with the high concentration, but we are still waiting to hear back from the agency.
Check back for updates on the story.
Until then, check out a story by News 6's Matt Austin from a few months ago, as he reported on which lakes in Central Florida have the most monster alligators.