By: Sharon Aron Baron
Nicole Rivera thought she was looking at a snake that slithered into her pool from the corner of her eye. But when she went outside her Parkland home, she quickly realized it was an alligator.
Rivera was stunned. “I have two daughters, ages 9 and 12, as well as a toy poodle.”
Her husband was out of town at the time, so she contacted Florida Fish and Wildlife, who told her it was over a year old — and close to four feet long.
“You are one tough cookie,” Rivera said on the video to FWC Officer Grant as she secured the alligator.
“I grew up with these things,” she replied.
Once it was safe, Officer Grant allowed Rivera’s nine-year-old daughter to pet the alligator– to her delight.
Like many other residents in the Heron Bay community, Rivera can either have a pool screen or wrought iron fencing.
“I have the wrought iron fence, and that’s how it got in.”
On Sunday, she said they would be covering the gaps with netting to prevent another one from getting in.
Author Profile
Related
EventsAugust 23, 2026Chamber Hosts Government Relations Forum on Florida Property Tax Amendment
Crime & SafetyAugust 22, 2026Scam Alert: Bank Teller Saves Coconut Creek Woman From Costly Jury Duty Scheme
NewsAugust 21, 2026Seminole Coconut Creek Education Foundation Offers Free SAT, ACT and PSAT Prep Classes
EventsAugust 19, 2026Coconut Creek’s Tradewinds Park and Library Collecting Donations for Colombia Earthquake Relief