A Gator Goes Shopping

Most stores still hold true to the long considered standard "No shirt, no shoes, no service," policy. That said, a Wal-Mart in Florida was forced to make an addendum to the usual store policy: No Alligators.

According to reports, the gator turned up outside of the store (located in Apopka, Fla.) on Sunday, Oct. 20. It made its way to the entrance, where its size was enough to open the automatic doors several times before employees were able to initiate a lockdown. As you might imagine, a number of store goers actually wanted a closer look at the big reptile, so locking the door and keeping folks away (for their own good) was probably the right call.

The police were called, and tried their best to scare the animal back to a more natural habitat. After a number of attempts failed, they contacted state wildlife officials. Perhaps sensing that the real fuzz was on the way, our scaled intruder escaped into the woods shortly thereafter. Officials believe the gator lives in a nearby retention pond. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation officials later announced that the gator would be caught and euthanized—they reasoned that the creature had "lost the fear of people."

Hey, if I were a 6-foot long alligator, I don't know that I'd be afraid of people, either. Looking like a dinosaur and having no real natural predators will do that for your sense of self-confidence. And, besides, this particular gator probably just wanted to take advantage of Wal-Mart's rolled-back prices. It's nearly the holiday season, after all.

Videos of the unwelcome customer have made their rounds on the web. I've embedded one below, for your convenience. What do you suspect the big reptile was looking to purchase? Jokes about skin care products need not apply.