TAMPA, Fla. – Two Florida women and a Swiffer were no match for a baby gator that wandered into one of their homes Sunday morning.
Sazan Powers, a realtor from Tampa, streamed the wild encounter live on Facebook and provided colorful commentary throughout the ordeal.
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She said her neighbor, Erika Venza, called her over and asked for help when the juvenile reptile strolled into her home through a sliding door she’d kept open. According to posts on Venza’s Facebook page, she didn’t realize until later when she looked at her Nest footage that the gator had actually been inside for about an hour before she spotted it.
During the 20-minute standoff, Venza stood on a chair in the living room while Powers opted to position herself on top of the kitchen counter while the two strategized ways to get the gator back outside where it belongs.
Despite being only about 2 feet long, the gator packed some serious punch.
Warning: Video contains graphic language. Viewer discretion is advised.
“It’s actually really aggressive when you get closer to it, of course, and like, we clearly don’t want to hurt it, we just want it to go back out,” Powers said.
She said that before she grabbed her phone and went live, the gator had been “hissing like crazy” and trying to attack the Swiffer she was using to attempt to coax it through the sliding door.
The two kept the door open and kept urging the aloof alligator to walk in that direction.
“Keep moving, bro. Come on. It’s gonna bite me. Keep going, keep going,” Powers said as the gator inched back into a corner.
Eventually, Powers pulled out her best parkour moves and wriggled from the counter to the kitchen table in order to better position herself. From the new vantage point, she was able to use the Swiffer once again to push at the miniature predator’s tail.
“I’ve never tried gator nuggets, I heard their pretty good,” Powers joked. “It’s really beautiful, it’s a very beautiful animal. I would not do anything to hurt this guy.”
Can you get more Florida than this? Help
Posted by Erika Venza on Sunday, April 11, 2021
When the tapping and prodding didn’t work, Powers resorted to pleading instead.
“Come on, buddy. Please just leave. Florida’s beautiful,” Powers said, only to interrupt her comments with a scream as the gator whipped its tail and bared its teeth at the encroaching Swiffer.
Venza cheered Powers on as she continued nudging at the reluctant creature.
“I know you can do this,” Venza said, still standing on a chair in the living room behind a makeshift barricade of TV boxes.
Things reached a fever pitch about 17 minutes into the footage as the gator is only about a foot away from freedom.
“The door is right there, bro. Come on,” Powers said.
With Venza now on the kitchen table as well, she yanked away the chair the gator was hiding behind as Powers shrieked.
With the chair, the Swiffer and both women in a precarious position, there was not much else they could do except chant and cheer in hopes of encouraging the baby gator to make the right move.
“You’re so close, buddy. Go, go, go, go, go. I know, baby, I know. I feel so bad for it. I know, baby, other way, other way, keep going,” Powers said.
Victory comes about a minute later as the gator waltzes out, first lingering for a few moments in the threshold, just as a trapper is returning Venza’s call.
“Bye bro, thanks for hanging out,” Powers said before shutting the sliding glass door.
The stream ends with the gator slipping through Venza’s fence back toward the pond as Powers warns it not to go to her house next door.
“Bye Mr. Gator, it’s so cute, guys. They’re so cute when they’re not in your home,” Powers said.
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