‘I Received to Cope with This?’

A Florida couple introduced new which means to the phrase “Goodbye, alligator” this week when a virtually 7-foot reptile all of a sudden appeared of their house — prompting them to get wildlife officers concerned.

Lee County residents Paul Quinn and his spouse Mary Jo detailed their Sunday, March 9 encounter with an alligator to native NBC affiliate WBBH this week, as Paul mentioned the unlikely visitor appeared by his aspect when he was house alone.

“I am like, ‘Is that actually an alligator in my lounge or within the kitchen space right here?’ ” Paul mentioned. “After which he noticed me and he began working and I am like, ‘Oh, crap, I received to cope with this in the present day?’ ”

After Paul referred to as 911, a much more welcomed customer from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee (FWC) got here by to deal with the state of affairs, he informed the outlet.

By no means miss a narrative — join PEOPLE’s free every day e-newsletter to remain up-to-date on the perfect of what PEOPLE has to supply​​, from movie star information to driving human curiosity tales.

Footage shared by Orlando CBS affiliate WKMG exhibits the reptile mendacity close to the couple’s kitchen desk. Upon recognizing the animal, Paul mentioned he saved his distance and waited for officers to come back by and help. The footage additionally particulars what occurred when the alligator took a chew out of an obvious kitchen-table chair, as an FWC official shortly lured the animal out of the house with a pole.

The gator left a shock for the couple too, because it misplaced a few enamel within the course of, based on WPTV.

As for a way the reptile discovered its method within the house, per WBBH, the Quinns usually go away their door open for a pleasant breeze — which means the intruder doubtless broke via a display screen to realize entry.

“That made me nervous,” Mary Jo mentioned of the ordeal. “I do not need to have a worry of an alligator simply strolling up our entrance stroll into our lobby once more. I can not stay like that. I stay in Florida. I like dwelling right here. I am not leaving.”

“They at all times inform you to watch out, you recognize, be conscious of the alligators,” Paul added. “Because of this.”

In line with the FWC’s web site, state residents who’ve “waterfront properties” or “take part in water-related actions” might discover themselves in “frequent alligator-human interactions.” Residents ought to “by no means feed an alligator” and should maintain their “distance” in the event that they see one, with Floridians inspired to “maintain pets on a leash and away from the water.”

This newest alligator run-in in Florida comes lower than two months after resident Stacy Thrasher caught a video of a gator casually strolling alongside a pathway towards a house in Ave Maria.

Within the footage, a 6-foot, 400-lb. gator may very well be seen making its approach to a residential porch. “I heard a giant, swishing noise, and so I seemed to my left to see what it was, and certain sufficient, there was an alligator sitting proper there,” Thrasher informed WINK-TV.