--- description: A caller reported a "bad odor," which led cleanup crews to the site. The giant alligator was already dead when it was extracted. title: This 11-Foot Alligator Was Found In A Florida Storm Drain image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This 11-Foot Alligator Was Found Stuck in a Florida Storm Drain  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 14, 2016 9:47 PM CUT  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 14, 2016 9:47 PM CUT Cleanup workers in Florida’s Lee County got lucky on Monday: the 11-foot alligator that was stuck inside a storm drain had already died. The Department of Transportation crew found the alligator inside a catch basin, which is a four-foot-wide drainage section a few feet before the ground, local station [WPBF reports](http://www.wpbf.com/news/11foot-alligator-pulled-from-storm-drain/40051240?utm%5Fsource=Social&utm%5Fmedium=FBPAGE&utm%5Fcampaign=WPBF%2025%20News&Content%20Type=Story "undefined"). Apparently, a caller reported a “bad odor” coming from the catch basin, which alerted the DOT crew to check out the situation. They ultimately removed the already-decaying reptile and got rid of the remains at a designated dump site. The DOT director told WPBF that the 11-foot monster was indeed “an abnormally large gator,” but the crew is not unaccustomed to dealing with these situations, as they get calls about twice a year regarding alligators. Just another day on the job in Florida, which has recently given us a slew of alligator sightings, including [this massive specimen](http://time.com/4352085/giant-alligator-florida-golf/ "undefined") seen sauntering across a golf course, [this 9-foot beast](http://time.com/4361690/alligator-florida-body-found/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") spotted with a body in its mouth, and [this giant](http://time.com/4283479/giant-alligator-florida/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") that was shot by hunters. The largest alligator recorded in Florida came in at a little over 14 feet long. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4369191/11-foot-alligator-florida-storm-drain/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4369191/11-foot-alligator-florida-storm-drain/"},"headline":"This 11-Foot Alligator Was Found Stuck in a Florida Storm Drain","datePublished":"2016-06-14T21:47:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:33:22.726Z","description":"Only in Florida.","url":"https://time.com/4369191/11-foot-alligator-florida-storm-drain/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","weird"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4369191/11-foot-alligator-florida-storm-drain/","name":"This 11-Foot Alligator Was Found Stuck in a Florida Storm Drain"}}]}] ```