Man on paddleboard pulls alligator out of water on Florida beach

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — New video shows a man on a paddleboard pulling a gator out of the water at Jacksonville Beach on Saturday. Beachgoers came across this unexpected sight – a three-foot alligator in the surf -- around noon.

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Ocean rescue said someone spotted the gator near Fifth Avenue South and alerted lifeguards.

“I heard this girl come up and say, ‘Oh my God, there’s an alligator,’ and I was, like, 'What’s going on?'” Adrielle Plasencia said.

Lifeguards got everyone out of the water and called Jacksonville Beach police and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Families crowded around as lifeguards used a net to get the gator out, then loaded it into an animal control truck.

Lt. Max Ervanian, with Jacksonville Beach Ocean Rescue, said the gator was agitated and likely sick from being in the saltwater.

He said this is the second time in 10 years he’s heard of a gator in the ocean.

“We possibly think, as before, it went down in the sewer drains, came out of the sewer drain that’s on the beach proper, then was a little lost and ventured into the water,” he said.

FWC said it is relocating the gator to a more suitable area.

Lifeguards don’t expect to see any more gators in the water, so you don’t have to worry about one swimming up next to you.

Still, beachgoers said they were keeping a close eye on the water.

“Crazy, but very Florida,” Plasencia said.

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