Nearly 12-foot gator caught in Fla. city

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A Florida animal trapper said he caught a nearly 12-foot alligator that has eluded capture in a St. Petersburg neighborhood for years.

Charles Carpenter said he spotted the alligator shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday in a culvert near a shopping plaza in the neighborhood, which is near the city's downtown, the St. Petersburg Times reported Thursday.

"We've been working on him for a few years," Carpenter said of the gator, which has been blamed for the deaths of some area pets. "It went a little smoother than I expected."

The trapper said the 11-foot, 7-inch reptile will be taken to a Dade City facility and destroyed. Officials said alligators that grow to more than 4 feet and lose their fear of humans cannot be relocated.

"(Relocation) is not an option for us," said Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "They're a nuisance no matter where you put them. People shouldn't be feeding wildlife, and if they are, they're almost always signing (the animal's) death warrant."