Rangers Called To End Alligator’s Sleep-In Protest At U.S. Air Force Base

Crikey mate! Screenshot: MacDill Air Force Base via Facebook

Alligators may be some of the oldest creatures on this planet, but they’re struggling right now as climate change and human factors dramatically impact their habitats, food sources and general way of living. Now, one appears to have taken matters into its own hands, launching a peaceful protest by napping under the landing gear of a plane parked up at a U.S. Air Force Base.

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The anarchist gator was spotted at Florida’s MacDill Air Force Base by USA Today, which spied the animal sleeping under the landing gear of a parked up plane. As long as the gator was sleeping there, the plane couldn’t take off and spew more planet-warming emissions into the atmosphere. As USA Today reports:

An alligator parked itself on the tarmac of MacDill Air Force Base in the Sunshine State this week and blocked traffic until Florida wildlife law enforcement arrived, wrangled and removed it.

Not without a fight from the scaly beast though.

Photos posted on MacDill AFB’s Facebook page Monday morning show the big alligator resting underneath a large plane in between its tires.

To try and bring the sleep-in to an end, the Air Force had to call for backup from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, which sent over a team of officers to try and bring the gator’s peaceful protest to an end.

Officers soon wrangled the animal out from underneath the plane’s wheels, revealing the true size of the monster gator that was causing all the kerfuffle. Officers then draped a blanket over its eyes, tied it up and loaded it into the back of a truck, As USA Today adds:

At one point, one officer is seen using her entire body weight to drag the reptile in an effort to continue to put more rope around the alligator’s snout.

Once free of the Air Force base, the animal was reportedly released into the Hillsborough River, where it will no doubt begin plotting its next protest efforts.