Alligator carcasses have been popping up in Fort Myers canals

Mangled alligator carcasses have been popping up in neighborhood canals, sparking concern in the community.

The most recent carcass found was in the Caribbean Canal in Fort Myers Shores, the body of a gator with its head, tail and feet gone.

WINK News reporter Jillian Haggerty went to Fort Myers Shores to see if anyone knew where these carcasses were coming from.

WINK has reached out to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and heard back that they had no record of these alligators in the canal at this time, and it’s something they will look into.

However, when speaking with neighbors on Saturday, they assumed someone threw them over the seawall, or they floated down the canal and ended up there.

Jason Weidner is one of the neighbors who saw the alligator, and he said, “My wife and I went for a little boat cruise on Saturday evening and we saw something floating in the middle of the canal here.”

At first, Weidner and his wife assumed it was a large deceased fish, but after taking a closer look, and with the smell, they realized it was an alligator.

“Medium-sized alligator that the head was missing, the tail was missing, the feet were missing and the neighbor came and we were talking and said what are those over there and I went over there and saw two more,” said Weidner.

The other two carcasses were smaller alligators, both missing their heads, tails and feet.

Weidner says he had lived here for two years and that was the first time he’s seen this, but for
Neighbor Jim Jahnke who lives next to the seawall said this is the second time he’s seen something like this.

“About a year to two years ago, I saw one,” said Jahnke, who just wants to know who’s the culprit behind this. “…I wish I could find out who it was that was dumping them in there.”

On Saturday he went over by the seawall to get a better look and told WINK he saw tire marks in the grass.

“And then I started thinking I think I saw tracks in the grass over there or like a vehicle has been over there close to the wall and maybe they just threw them out you know and took
off,” said Jahnke.

Both neighbors agree it’s upsetting to see this happen.

“Yeah, they shouldn’t do that, I have them under my dock and somebody is feeding them, and that’s why they come down here,” said Jahnke.

“Yeah, it’s been bothering her since, that’s why she had us reach out and see if there is some way to stop this,” said Weidner.

WINK News has reached out to the FWC for more information. If you are caught performing these actions to the wildlife you could get up to 4 years imprisonment or a $5,000 fine.