LAUREL - As the temperature cranks up, so do alligator hormones, putting the scaly creatures on the move in search of mates, as Nokomis resident Jan Keith discovered Friday morning.


According to the FWC Web site, it is not safe to simply relocate nuisance alligators. Trappers often make money selling the reptiles' meat and hide. Keith was getting ready to leave her house around 9:30 a.m. when a neighbor called to warn her that a big bull gator was camping out on her front porch.

It was not a huge surprise to Keith. The Calusa Lakes golf course community she has called home for 14 years is something of a gator haven, with residents sighting animals up to 12 feet in length over the years.

"We've had a few in the neighborhood like that before," she said. "We get some big ones."

Still, eight feet is nothing to take lightly, said trapper Harry Flechig.

"You get an alligator this big in your front yard, it's a danger," Flechig said. "This one could actually hurt you very badly."

This is the worst time of year for aggressive alligators. Mating season gets them riled up and moving from pond to pond in search of a partner, Flechig said, noting that 31 alligators were captured in the region on Thursday.

Keith was not taking any chances Friday. She jumped in her car and split while two Sarasota County sheriff's deputies helped Flechig wrangle the reptile.

Half a dozen neighbors gathered to take pictures as the animal hissed and rolled in the yard for 15 minutes. The alligator was subdued in the back of Flechig's truck by 10:15 a.m.

Calusa Lakes maintenance man Tom Stoutjesdyk called the alligator "average size" and said the animals typically keep to themselves in the golf course ponds.

Neighbors were divided over whether the animal should be removed. Sophia Fong was happy to see it go. Her 12-year-old son walks the family's corgi-sheltie mix every morning after breakfast.

"I'm glad my boy didn't run into it this morning," Fong said. "That's scary!"

Keith was sympathetic, though.

"The poor gator, I hope he's going to be OK."

Nuisance alligators become the property of the trapper. Most of a trapper's compensation comes from selling the alligator meat and hide.

According to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission Web site, it is not safe to relocate nuisance alligators.

"Relocation does not change the behavior that caused the alligator to be a nuisance, and relocated alligators frequently return to their capture site. As a result, these alligators would continue to pose a danger."

Flechig urged anyone who spots an alligator in a populated area to call the FWC.

The FWC traps about 7,000 nuisance alligators every year. The animals can grow up to 14 feet and weigh 1,000 pounds.