Gargantuan alligator resurfaces at Florida golf course

MANATEE, Fla., Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Players at a Florida golf course where a gargantuan gator became a viral star said the reptile is back on the prowl.

The 15-foot alligator, dubbed Chubbs in honor of a character from the film Happy Gilmore, became a global star in May when a video of the 60-year-old reptile walking across the golf course in the Tampa Bay area went viral on YouTube and social media.

Players at the course said Chubbs recently resurfaced.

"He is big... He's unbelievable," course regular Dave Staples told WTSP-TV. "He comes out of the bushes. He is huge! Walks 10-15 feet, flops to rest, that's how big he is."

Experts say the recent cooler weather is ideal for alligator sightings.

"These cooler nights, they have to come out and get warm in the sunlight the next day otherwise they're not going to be mobile and able to digest food properly," said Damen Hurd, VP of Wildlife, Inc., at Mixon Fruit Farms.