March 28 (UPI) -- An alligator managed to enter a Louisiana couple's enclosed porch, sparking a reptile royal rumble involving a professional gator handler and Livingston Parish sheriff's deputies.
Bobby and Susan McKenzie said they were at home Wednesday evening when they heard an alarming sound.
"I heard some scratching that I thought was inside the house right behind me in the corner. I went out the door and I saw the screen was torn," Bobby McKenzie told WAFB-TV. "I walked up to the edge of the porch, and I could see the alligator's tail. I ran back inside and saw him from the window."
The couple called for help from the Louisiana Parish Sheriff's Office and a neighbor who raises alligators.
The sheriff's office shared video on Facebook showing the alligator being captured, handcuffed and released into a nearby river.
The McKenzies said the struggle didn't last long, but the alligator put up an impressive fight.
"It was chaos. Every chair was knocked over. The alligator had a cushion in his mouth," Susan McKenzie said. "He tired out pretty quickly. I was surprised."
The sheriff's office said the alligator was measured at 9 feet long.
"Livingston Parish has close to 400 nautical miles of waterways," Sheriff Jason Ard told Nola.com. "This isn't our first run-in with a gator and won't be our last -- it's part of the job."
