Sports

Scallop Hunters Become Gator Prey On Cotee River

The scallop season ended with a bit of unexpected excitement when scallop seekers in Durney Key found themselves the prey.

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The scallop season ended with a bit of unexpected excitement when scallop seekers in Durney Key found themselves the prey. (Pasco Sheriff)
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The scallop season ended with a bit of unexpected excitement when scallop seekers in Durney Key found themselves the prey. (Pasco Sheriff)
https://test.patch.com/img/cdn20/users/22976176/20190729/064456/styles/patch_image/public/gator1___29184420871.jpg
The scallop season ended with a bit of unexpected excitement when scallop seekers in Durney Key found themselves the prey. (Pasco Sheriff)

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — Pasco County's annual scallop season ended this weekend with a bit of unexpected excitement when scallop seekers in Durney Key found themselves the prey rather than the hunters.

While searching for some succulent scallops on Saturday, swimmers were chased by a 12- to 15-foot alligator. The Florida Wildlife and Conservation Commission called in a trapper who captured the gator in the Cotee River. No people were injured. And, in the end, the gator became the prey after all. He was killed and sold as gator meat.

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