Alligator suns in Daphne driveway

DAPHNE, Ala. (WALA) - Sunday evening, Claudia Radu peered out her window and saw neighbors gathered in front of her house.

Soon after, she realized why: an 8 foot alligator was in her driveway!

Eleven-year-old Roberto Radu said, "At first, when my mom said it, I thought she was just kidding, really."

Claudia Radu and her three children stayed at a distance, and then she called the police, but she said the dispatcher didn’t believe her.

Nine-year-old Rodrigo Radu said, "That really doesn't happen, most of the time."

Claudia Radu had an interesting exchange with the 911 dispatcher.

"The lady who answered said, 'You have WHAT in your driveway?'" she said.

Radu told the dispatcher she had a large alligator in her driveway and, when asked by the dispatcher, she gave an estimate of about 7 feet.

Radu said, "She's like, ‘what he's doing in there?' Well, I don't know, I did not ask him yet!"

The police and fire department responded to the scene and a hose was used to push the alligator back into a creek.

"He was very fussy. He started walking away,” said Claudia Radu.

Roberto Radu hopes this toothy intruder doesn't come back anytime soon.

Roberto Radu said, "We have a dog, and I don't want to lose her, really."

Joseph Hegler works with gators everyday at Alligator Alley in Summerdale. He said, generally, its best to just leave these animals to the experts and stay away.

Hegler says alligators can appear in neighborhoods if there's water nearby.

Another alligator expert says if the alligator is afraid of humans, it won't hurt you; he warns, however, that if you do feed it, the animal could lose its fear of humans and become a threat.

Hegler said, "About six to seven feet is where [alligators] have enough jaw pressure, at that point, to break human bones."