SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – Florida Fish and Wildlife officers are investigating the circumstances surrounding a beheaded alligator that was found in Sarasota County.
Kimberly Kukich was traveling along Lorraine Road on Monday when she spotted the mutilated creature.
“Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a gator. I turned around to go see the gator and when I turned around to go back, the gator was decapitated. It looked like it had been decapitated by a chainsaw,” said Kukich.
FWC officials tell 8 On Your Side they do not know who did it but say whoever is responsible for cutting and taking the alligators head could face serious charges.
“It depends on how the alligator died,” said Officer Brian Norris, Public Information Officer with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
According to Officer Norris, if the alligator was killed intentionally, the suspect could face third-degree felony charges. If the animal was dead before the decapitation, the suspect could face second-degree misdemeanor charges.
Norris says harvesting an alligator’s head is illegal even with an alligator hunting permit.
“No legal hunter is just going to take the head,” said Norris.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to call the FWC’s Wildlife Alert hotline at 1-888-404-3922.
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