8-foot alligator found under conveyer belt in Florida

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Workers at Port Canaveral found an 8-foot gator hiding under a conveyor belt Friday.

Employees at Ambassador Services aren’t sure how the alligator ended up in the cargo area and on their jobsite.

“They were walking parallel toward the conveyor, and they were just down toward the warehouse when they heard a hissing and snarling sound,” said Ambassador Services employee Mike Noyes. “They looked down to see what it was and they were nose-to-nose with about an 8-foot gator.”

The animal didn’t make the capture an easy one.

Trappers couldn’t coax the alligator out of the cargo area, so a forklift operator had to lift the platform.

“We ended up having to take a forklift and lifting a platform and getting him to come out,” said Florida Fish and Wildlife trapper Frank Robb.

The gator was euthanized and removed from the work site with the same forklift.

The forklift operator said lifting an alligator was a first in his career.

Cox Media Group