Alligator gives family morning call...

Knock, knock! Seven foot alligator gives family an early morning wake up call by banging on their door

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 7:12 PM on 27th October 2010

When Jose Roca heard a knock on the door in the early hours of Tuesday morning he was a bit surprised.

But what he wasn't expecting on his front porch was a near seven foot alligator wanting to come in for breakfast.

Mr Roca was in bed when he heard banging coming from outside his Tampa, Florida home and came face to face with a gator whose amazing capture was caught on tape.

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Let me in: Florida resident Jose Roca was woken by a knock on his door this morning and was shocked to find a seven foot alligator on his front porch

Alligator Dundee: A trapper was called who came to retrieve the large reptile

When Mr Roca peeked through the window before opening up he was astounded to see the gator sitting outside, waiting patiently for the door to be opened.

He said: 'I thought it was a burglar or something. Something was going on. I just wake up and look at the gator'.

Mr Roca's wife Jenny called 911 at 4.21am to get authorities to remove the large reptile. 'I'm not sure if it's an emergency but I have an alligator right in front on my house', Jenny told the operator.

'I hear somebody that is touching the door and everything, and when I just went out, I saw an alligator right in front on my house.'

When Hillsborough County deputies arrived they were greeted by the gator that measured six feet, 7 inches, sheriff's spokeswoman Vida Morgan said.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issued a permit for a trapper to get the gator that is native to the Florida area. 

Riveting footage showing an 'Alligator Dundee' capturing the reptile shows the trapper working on his strategy on how best to safely trap the gator.

The trapper slowly approaches the gator with a noose attached to a long pole as the gator loudly hisses.

But as he gets closer the gator senses danger and fiercely snaps back to ward off being captured.

As the trapper slowly puts the noose around the gator's neck, the reptile is calm but once the noose snaps shut the gator viciously wriggled to try and free itself from the tight noose around its mouth.

It continued to flip back and forth, swinging its large tail and flipping over doing somersaults - but it was all in vain as the trapper gains control and actually kneels down on the gator.

Grabbing the alligator's mouth with his bare hands, he then sealed it shut with black tape and tied its hands behind its back. 

The trapper said it was unusual to see a gator out in the autumn months as he usually got calls about gators during the spring which is also mating season. He said the gator might have been targeting the family's dogs.

A Commission spokesman said the gator would be put to sleep and confirmed that when a gator which is four feet or larger is trapped, they 'get harvested' for their meat and hide.

So it is likely that the Roca's early morning visitor will be on a barbecue by the weekend.

Alligators are apparently only native to the United States and China. The majority of gators inhabit Florida and Louisiana, with over a million of the reptiles in each state.

However, there are many alligator farms in places like Australia and Cambodia that breed the animals for their meat, and skin that is used to make shoes and bags.

Alligator meat has long been a part of Southern cooking - especially Cajun cuisine and is also used in some Asian and African dishes.

Chinese medicine considers alligator meat to be a curative food for colds and cancer prevention although this has not been scientifically verified.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1324273/Knock-knock-Seven-foot-alligator-gives-family-early-morning-wake-banging-door.html#ixzz13aPlWC5C