PALM BAY, Fla. — The mutilated body of an alligator was discovered Monday evening in the middle of a Palm Bay road, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.
The decapitated, tailless gator was discovered on Pace Drive Northwest near Delhaven Avenue Northwest, FWC spokesman Greg Workman said.
"So literally right there, in oncoming traffic," resident Brandon Gibson said, pointing to the place where he discovered the carcass. "It was literally an alligator with its head and tail cut off."
Gibson told Channel 9 a neighbor called police to have the animal removed. The gator's tail was discovered less than one block away.
"I kind of wanted to throw up," he said. "It was nasty. The smell was bad, too. I mean, yeah, it was horrible."
The tail remained in a nearby grassy area as late as Tuesday afternoon, so Channel 9's Samantha Manning called wildlife officers to notify them.
"I just think it's messed up how people can do that, like, cut a tail and a head off and just leave it right in the middle of the road, too," Gibson said. "There's, like, no reason for people to be hurting alligators since we're Floridians ... Just leave them alone. They won't bother you."
FWC is investigating the death of the animal discovered Monday, Workman said.
No other details were given.
Cox Media Group
