Large alligator found eating man's body at Florida lake

LAKELAND, Fla. -- A Florida maintenance worker got a grisly sight Tuesday – a large alligator with a human body in its mouth.

The worker called Lakeland police Tuesday afternoon to report that he had seen an alligator with human body parts in its mouth, WFLA reports.



Officers responded to the scene and confirmed that the human remains were from an unidentified male. The alligator released the body from its mouth, but managed to get back into the lake.

A state alligator trapper responded to the scene at about 3 p.m. to help catch the animal.

As of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Lakeland police were working to keep the alligator away from the body so they could remove it from the water. It's not yet clear if the alligator killed the man; an autopsy will be done to determine his cause of death.

The person's identity is not known.