The sudden removal of Larry the celebrity Alligator from Brownwood was the No. 5 story of the year in The Villages.

Larry was quietly whisked away from his Villages pond near Brownwood in March after District Property Management received reports of him becoming too comfortable around people.

Larry the Alligator was quite popular among Villagers when he lived in a pond near Brownwood. District officials made the decision in March to have him moved to Gatorland after they say he began to get too comfortable around people and some residents were reportedly feeding him, which is illegal in Florida.

“People were just getting a little too close to him,” said District Manager Richard Baier, adding that Villagers and visitors to Florida’s Friendliest Hometown apparently had been feeding Larry, which is illegal in Florida.

Concerned Villagers soon found out that the 11-foot-long, 700-pound reptile had been relocated to Gatorland in Orlando, where he would be surrounded by roughly 2,000 other alligators.

When he lived in The Villages, Larry the Alligator would often sun himself near his pond in Brownwood, located just off County Road 44A and Shady Nook Run, about a block behind the Citizens First Bank branch.

Baier said he was happy to know the alligator loved by so many in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown – click HERE to see Larry’s Facebook page – would live out his life in the nice environment offered by Gatorland.

“He’ll be used for educational purposes,” Baier said. “And he won’t have to worry about finding food or anything like that.”

The decision to move Larry also followed the posting of a video on Villages-News.com and several other news and social media sites showing Larry walking across a golf cart path near his pond, just off County Road 44-A and Shady Nook Run between the Eisenhower Recreation Center and Brownwood. Baier said officials noticed even larger crowds coming out to see Larry after the video was released.

“We couldn’t take any chances and we had to use an abundance of caution,” he said, pointing out that Larry even swam toward the trapper instead of fleeing from him as most alligators would do when he was being caught to be relocated to Gatorland.

Larry the Alligator relaxes at Gatorland in Orlando in March after being moved there from his pond near Brownwood in The Villages.

Not surprisingly, the powers-that-be at Gatorland were quite happy to welcome Larry to his new home, which even included his sign that had been posted on a fence near his Brownwood home. The popular attraction even released photos and a video of Larry getting acclimated to his new surroundings.

“Larry’s a rock star, no doubt about it,” said Gatorland President & CEO Mark McHugh. “The people at The Villages loved him.”

Larry the Alligator, estimated to be about 11 feet long and weigh 700 pounds, was welcomed and received a round of applause as he moved around Gatorland in March.
Larry the Alligator’s sign was relocated to a fence at Gatorland near the lake where he will live out his life.

But McHugh added that relocating Larry was the right thing to do because of his massive size and the immense danger he presented to people who might get too close to him.

“With all the kids, the grandkids and the people around The Villages, it was a bad situation.” He said.

McHugh added that Larry should enjoy his new life at Gatorland.

“He’ll live it out on big lakes with fish and turtles in it, female alligators, he’s going to have a great life,” he said.

Gatorland officials also encouraged visitors from The Villages and other fans of Larry to come out and see him.

“We will personally try to hunt him down and see if we can locate him for you,” said Donny Aldarelli, one of the many alligator experts at the park.

In March, Larry the Alligator joined close to 2,000 other alligators that call Gatorland their home.