A 3-foot alligator was pulled from the ocean in Jacksonville Beach on Saturday after a lifeguard stationed at the 6th Avenue South stand was notified by a beach-goer that there was something odd in the water.
Odd is an understatement. Alligators rarely go into the ocean because they are freshwater creatures. They can survive, but only for a short time.
According to Lt. Max Ervanian of Jacksonville Beach Ocean Rescue, this is only the second time in the last 10 years that any of the guards recall discovering an alligator in the ocean. The alligator lucked out. Ervanian said the gator was struggling in the water and lethargic.
Ocean Rescue and Jacksonville Beach Animal Control used a net to get the alligator out. It was placed in a cage while the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was on its way to the scene. Officials from Fish and Wildlife could not be reached for comment Saturday.
Ervanian stressed that alligators, in general, pose no danger to beach-goers.
“It’s very rare,” he said.
