Usually you know what you're getting into when you show up to Wendy's. The hardest part of the experience will probably be deciding between the Baconator and the Spicy Chicken Sandwich. However, several unsuspecting customers showed up to a Florida Wendy's in search of a bite to eat and instead were chased away by a hangry alligator.
The Hangry Alligator
In Lehigh Acres, Florida, these Wendy's customers were just going about their Monday afternoons, stopping by for some fast food at Wendy's. They never expected to do anything scarier than say no to fries. Instead, they were forced to flee a 7-foot alligator in the Wendy's parking lot!
The gator in question was said to have "chased pedestrians through a Wendy's parking lot" before deputies were called to the scene. "He may have just been 'hangry' for a cheeseburger, but he gave many quite the scare," the Lee County Sheriff's Office tweeted. "Alongside [the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission] we wrangled the gator and safely relocated it."
GATOR CHASE?
Deputies responded to Lee Blvd today after this 6-ft gator chased pedestrians through a Wendy's parking lot.
He may have just been "hangry" for a cheeseburger, but he gave many quite the scare!
Alongside FWC, we wrangled the gator and safely relocated it. pic.twitter.com/OIiDHCmMJC
— Carmine Marceno - Florida?s Law and Order Sheriff (@SheriffLeeFL) May 17, 2021
After receiving the call, the cops and a "nuisance alligator trapper" from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) caught and trapped the gator across the street from the Wendy's restaurant, in the Lehigh Acres Health & Rehab Center's parking lot. The alligator was found to be 7 feet, 3 inches long.
The FWC reminded Floridians to call the Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR if they have any alligator encounters, and a trapper will come take care of the problem.
Wendy's Gator History
The FWC's spokesperson explained that the alligator was likely trying to get from one body of water to another, and the Wendy's parking lot was probably the quickest option. Alligators prefer slow rivers and lakes along with wetlands, but they also hang out in saltwater and brakish water occasionally.
Interestingly enough, this isn't Wendy's first run-in with a gator. In 2016, a Florida man was arrested for throwing a live alligator through the Wendy's drive-thru window in Loxahatchee. Joshua James had picked it up on the side of the road and kept it in his pickup truck until deciding to throw it at the Wendy's worker who brought him his order. The gator was taken from the restaurant by FWC officials and brought to a nearby canal.
After being caught and wrangled, the hangry' alligator has since been taken to an alligator farm, where he won't be able to scare innocent Wendy's customers again. Did he want a bite of a burger? Or was he simply entertaining himself on the way to the swamp? We'll never know, but hopefully this is the last Wendy's gator incident for awhile.
