Huge alligator found in Florida storm pipe: Robot camera faces off with reptile
Telegraph, 12 May 2023
It is an urban myth that has been around for decades – that giant alligators, originally dumped as pets, inhabit the dank sewer systems of big cities like New York.
Now, myth has become reality – at least in Florida.
When engineers in the town of Oviedo dispatched a wheeled robotic camera underground to check out what might be causing potholes in a road, they got quite a surprise – a five foot long alligator lurking in the murky water.
The large reptile was captured on film in a storm water pipe on May 5.
It was startled by the robotic camera but after facing it down briefly, turned tail and retreated down the pipe.
The crew operating the mobile video camera initially thought they were seeing a large toad.
“At first, they thought it was a toad and in the video, you see two little glowing eyes until you get closer. But when it turned around, they saw the long tail of the alligator and followed it through the pipes,” said officials in Oviedo, near the city of Orlando.
“You can see in the video they got about 340 feet in before the robot got stuck on a little indentation and the alligator meandered off.”
“Thank goodness our crews have a robot,” they said, warning locals to stay away from storm pipes and sewers.
As one Florida newspaper put it: “Among the many reasons not to go crawling into storm drains: you might not be alone.”
City authorities posted video of the unusual encounter online, with the caption: “You’ve heard of Snakes on a Plane? How about ‘Gator in a pipe?”
Urban legends about huge alligators living in the sewer systems of American cities formed the basis for a schlock horror film called Alligator, made in 1980.
In the movie, an alligator that was dumped in the sewers when it was small eventually turns into a 36ft-long, 2,000lb monster that terrorises the city.
The danger posed by alligators in real life in Florida is all too real and there have been a number of recent attacks on humans.
In the last few months, an 85-year-old woman was killed while defending her pet dog and a 72-year-old man had his leg bitten off.
Last year, a man was killed on the shore of a lake in the town of Largo and an 80-year-old woman was killed by an alligator after falling into a pond in a country club near Sarasota. In 2016, a toddler was killer by an alligator at Walt Disney World.
Despite those incidents, Florida authorities say that the odds of being seriously injured in an unprovoked alligator attack in the state are one in three million.
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#alligator #Florida #Robot
Now, myth has become reality – at least in Florida.
When engineers in the town of Oviedo dispatched a wheeled robotic camera underground to check out what might be causing potholes in a road, they got quite a surprise – a five foot long alligator lurking in the murky water.
The large reptile was captured on film in a storm water pipe on May 5.
It was startled by the robotic camera but after facing it down briefly, turned tail and retreated down the pipe.
The crew operating the mobile video camera initially thought they were seeing a large toad.
“At first, they thought it was a toad and in the video, you see two little glowing eyes until you get closer. But when it turned around, they saw the long tail of the alligator and followed it through the pipes,” said officials in Oviedo, near the city of Orlando.
“You can see in the video they got about 340 feet in before the robot got stuck on a little indentation and the alligator meandered off.”
“Thank goodness our crews have a robot,” they said, warning locals to stay away from storm pipes and sewers.
As one Florida newspaper put it: “Among the many reasons not to go crawling into storm drains: you might not be alone.”
City authorities posted video of the unusual encounter online, with the caption: “You’ve heard of Snakes on a Plane? How about ‘Gator in a pipe?”
Urban legends about huge alligators living in the sewer systems of American cities formed the basis for a schlock horror film called Alligator, made in 1980.
In the movie, an alligator that was dumped in the sewers when it was small eventually turns into a 36ft-long, 2,000lb monster that terrorises the city.
The danger posed by alligators in real life in Florida is all too real and there have been a number of recent attacks on humans.
In the last few months, an 85-year-old woman was killed while defending her pet dog and a 72-year-old man had his leg bitten off.
Last year, a man was killed on the shore of a lake in the town of Largo and an 80-year-old woman was killed by an alligator after falling into a pond in a country club near Sarasota. In 2016, a toddler was killer by an alligator at Walt Disney World.
Despite those incidents, Florida authorities say that the odds of being seriously injured in an unprovoked alligator attack in the state are one in three million.
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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/customer/subscribe/digitalsub/3for1/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_pvid_conversion-subscription_editorial-iniative_03-22_EGW-13_organic_youtube
Get the latest headlines: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.
#alligator #Florida #Robot
