A controversial alligator was pulled Wednesday morning from the waters of Lake Laguna in the Village of Mira Mesa.
How exactly the alligator died remains a mystery.
The dead alligator was discovered  by residents of the Village of Mira Mesa.
Baited, hooked lines had been put in the water last week after a resident contacted the Nuisance Alligator Hotline operated by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Someone cut the trappers’ lines in an apparent attempt to save the alligator.
Those lines were pulled Sunday evening after Villages District Property Management voided the FWC permit.
This morning, a trapper contracted by FWC removed the alligator from Lake Laguna.
It is not known exactly what killed the alligator.
Most likely, it got to the bait and swallowed the hooks, said Greg Workman of FWC.
“It probably stressed out from having the hooks inside it,” Workman said.
The alligator meat is not consumable because the exact cause of death is not known, he said. The trapper will be able to harvest the hide, however.
Trappers receive a small stipend from FWC in such cases, but trappers recover most of their expenses through selling the meat and hide.
Village of Mira Mesa resident Patty Tieben said she was sorry to see the alligator die.
“My friends all love the alligators,” she said. “Whenever they come over, the first thing they do is grab our binoculars to look out at them.”
She said the alligators in Lake Laguna are not threatening.
“The minute you step outside, they jump right in the water,” she said.
You can read more on the background on alligator activity and the controversy it has caused in that neighborhood at the link below:
http://villages-news.com/gator-debate-raging-mira-mesa-neighbors-clash-critters-fate/
