Watch: Gator Crashes Picnic Lunch

Ants might be the biggest threat to picnic lunches in most parts of the country, but picnickers in Florida sometimes have much bigger concerns.

A pair of University of Florida students found that out recently when they set out a picnic lunch on the banks of Gainesville’s Lake Alice. It seems Michael Tamayo and a friend didn’t even have a chance to enjoy their culinary spread when an alligator climbed out of the lake to join in the feast, WUFT reported.

Bystander Richard Reed Jr. captured the thief chomping a sandwich on video. By all reports, the two UF students and witnesses to the encounter did the right thing by standing back and letting the gator eat its fill.

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Alligator encounters have made numerous headlines across Florida this year so far. Earlier this month, two homeowners had separate late-night visits from critters out taking strolls. In late October, an encounter with an alligator turned fatal for a man swimming in the waters of Blue Springs State Park.

Roaming alligators are fairly commonplace sightings during the warmer months in the Sunshine State.

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“All reptiles are more active in the warmer months,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Gary Morse told Patch in an earlier interview. “That’s just the cold-blooded creatures’ (way). Their metabolism increases and they do become active.”

That increase in activity can lead to an increase in encounters with humans as gators take advantage of warm weather to stretch their legs and see if the grass is greener on the other side of the pond.

To help residents deal with unruly alligators, the state has set up its own hotline to accept calls about nuisance critters. That number is 1-866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).

In 2013 alone, the state fielded 15,036 nuisance alligator calls, which resulted in the removal of 6,605 creatures.

YouTube/WUFT screenshot