A Florida woman who planned a picnic spread for her fiance on Lake Alice on the University of Florida campus saw it ruined by a hungry alligator, WGFL reported.
Taylor Forte envisioned a nice date night with Trevor Walters, who was leaving for the Marines in 10 weeks, the television station reported. Instead, the couple’s date was interrupted by an alligator. Gators are plentiful on Lake Alice, but this one had food on its mind and charged whole the couple was enjoying their picnic.
"He swims up to the bank and just looks us dead in the eyes, and then he immediately just sprints up onto the beach," Walters told WGFL.
The couple quickly sprinted away from the blanket and the food, and the gator helped himself.
"He annihilated an entire block of cheese," Walters told WGFL. "Gobbled it down, lickety-split. The salami didn't stand a chance."
Walters told the television station the reptile washed the cheese down with a pound of grapes and half a watermelon.
"The worst part is we had a big bowl of guac made," Walters said. "He eats the whole bowl. He put the whole bowl in his mouth."
Walters knew the best way to scare the alligator was to make a lot of noise, so he spread his arms to look bigger and began to cause a ruckus. The gator retreated back into the pond, WGFL reported.
"It's called the bear scare," Walters told the television station.
Because the alligator did not have a fear for humans, Karen Parker, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, said the reptile probably had been fed before by people and associated them with food. Usually, that means the gator will be trapped by wildlife officials, she told WGFL.
"We call our trappers and they catch the gator that's causing problems," Parker told the television station. "They keep the gator for its hide and meat."
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