BRANDON, Fla. (WFLA) — An alligator that’s been living in a Florida neighborhood with its mouth taped shut since December has finally been captured.

The alligator was captured in the Lumsden Reserve neighborhood of Brandon on Thursday after previous attempts to failed.

Before the animal was captured, neighborhood resident Amber Lock shared photos of the alligator with 8 On Your Side. She called the action “inhumane.”

Florida resident Amber Lock said she believes the animal’s mouth was taped shut when a trapper attempted to remove the alligator, but it’s unclear why the animal was left there. (Courtesy of Amber Lock)
Aligator’s mouth taped shut in Brandon neighborhood. (Amber Lock)

It was previously reported that Lock believed the animal’s mouth was taped shut when a trapper attempted to remove the alligator back in December, but it’s unclear why the animal was left there.

An agency spokeswoman explained that the delay was due to “confusion caused by two different permit requests made to two different trappers by members of the public.”

She said a trapper went to the location on Saturday and saw the gator, but it disappeared from view anytime anyone came close to the water.

A new permit was issued on Sunday. The spokeswoman said they were sending a contracted nuisance alligator trapper to the location to remove it from the area.

The nearly 5-foot-long female alligator was taken to Gatorama Inc. in Palmdale, Florida, according to the contracted Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission trapper.