VENICE, Fla. (WFLA) — Mary Hollenback was enjoying her Sunday afternoon watching the television when she heard her front door rattle. Thinking that an intruder was trying to enter her Grand Palm home, she got up to investigate.
However, what she saw standing before her was quite frightening—a nearly 8-foot alligator had busted through the screen door and made itself at home.
“So, I’m sitting on my sofa. It’s late in the afternoon. I’m just watching TV, and I heard my front door rattle, my screen door. And I thought somebody who didn’t live here was trying to come in, thinking that they were probably in the wrong house because that happens frequently. So, by the time I got up and went near the front door, the gator was already inside,” Hollenback said.
The Venice homeowner said her door had a magnetic closure on it, allowing the gator to push it open.
“He was pushing through that and it broke the magnetic clasp. The door opened and he just came in,” she said. “I probably got no further, no closer to the front door than you are right now. Just close enough to look and see that it wasn’t a person trying to get in; it was an alligator.”
After seeing the large gator lounging on her floor, Hollenback said all she could think was, “Oh, my goodness, I have an alligator in my house.”
“My mindset was like, ‘Oh, my goodness, I have an alligator in my house,’ and at the same time, I’m thinking, ‘I have an alligator in my house, how am I gonna get rid of the guy?'”
Hollenback said she thought about calling 911, but she had a slight issue—her phone was sitting on the counter, just inches away from the reptile.
“The only thing I could think to do was to call 911, but my phone was sitting on the end of the counter. So, I had to get a little bit closer to him, grabbed my phone, and then went on the lanai and called 911.”
Luckily, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office was quick to respond to Hollenback’s call.
“The one deputy was really pretty funny because he told me that when he saw the report, he didn’t believe me until he walked in the house and saw the gator,” she said.
Two deputies and three Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers were called in to help remove the gator from Hollenback’s home. The gator measured 7 feet 11 inches long.
While Hollenback said she’s relived the gator was removed, she said it was crazy to see how the pictures of the gator were spreading like wildfire on social media.
“I was relieved. I was kind of shaken for a while, but you know, it’s like all my neighbors came out and were all talking about it, and it’s just become a really good story since then. I mean, this story just keeps growing and growing. My 15 minutes of fame,” she joked.
Hollenback said her Venice neighborhood has about 50 ponds, so it’s not unusual to see alligators, and that she doesn’t know where the reptile ended up.
Gator sightings will be ramping up within the coming months as mating season is underway in the Sunshine State. Mating season kicks off in April and lasts until June, meaning there will be a greater chance of encountering the massive reptiles this month.
During mating season, males tend to become more aggressive. While alligator attacks are rare, residents should be vigilant near ponds and waterways, especially while walking their pets.
Anyone who sees an alligator that appears to be a threat to people, pets, or property should call the FWC’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 1-866-FWC-GATOR.
