LAKELAND, Fla. — The Humpback of Circle B is drawing worldwide attention.
A video clip of a mammoth alligator sauntering across a grassy trail at Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland, just a few yards from a group of photographers, is bouncing its way through the Internet.
The 30-second clip shot by Kim Joiner of Lakeland captures a moment Sunday morning at the county environmental reserve, a popular location that draws nature lovers hoping to see birds and other wildlife.
The "other" animal in this case is a bull gator nicknamed "Mr. Humpback" by regulars and estimated to be at least 12 feet long. Joiner and a few other hikers happened to be on Marsh Rabbit Run, a trail that traverses two marshes, when the alligator decided to stroll from one watery area to another.
Joiner, a frequent visitor to Circle B, posted the video Sunday evening on a Facebook page devoted to Circle B, and by Monday afternoon it had been shared more than 21,000 times. The clip has been picked up by TV stations from
Louisiana to New York and is featured on the website of the Daily Mail, a British publication.
The Daily Mail used the headline: "Holy smokes that is a dinosaur!"
The beast, commonly seen sunning in the marshes near Marsh Rabbit Run, is a stunning sight.
It has a drooping, bulbous throat and a dramatically arched back, the source of its moniker.
In the video segment, the alligator lumbers slowly, seemingly laboring to lift its meaty feet as it moves across the trail before disappearing into vegetation on the other side. The gator is so large that its head moves into the greenery while its tail is still on the other side of the roughly 8-foot-wide trail.
In the background, two photographers slump on their bellies along the trail as another kneels and a fourth stands shooting images. The two at ground level were Sean and Kristi Buckley of Tampa, amateur photographers who make regular visits to Circle B.
Kristi Buckley said they had been at the reserve since sunrise and were headed to the parking lot about 11 a.m. when they came upon Joiner and a few other hikers who had noticed the alligator acting as if it planned to cross the trail.
Buckley said the group all waited and provided room for the reptile to find a chute out of the water.
"We've seen him swimming around before but didn't actually know his name, and we definitely have not seen him that close before," Buckley said.
Sean Buckley estimated the reptile's length at 12 feet.
Last year, another giant Florida alligator had golfers reaching for the cellphones.
The longest gator ever measured in Florida was a 14-foot, 3 1/2 -inch male captured in Brevard County, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. A mature bull gator can weigh up to 1,000 pounds.
Joiner's video had drawn nearly 2,000 comments by Monday afternoon. Many comments expressed the reactions people said they would have had if exposed to the behemoth at such close range.
"OMG no way!! I'd have a heart attack!!!" one woman wrote.
"You'd be prying me out of a tree and finding me clean clothes," another woman added.
One person complained that the attention had news crews to the reserve Monday morning in search of Mr. Humpback.
"Some things need to be left off social media," the woman wrote. "I'm sure he doesn't care (whether) he is famous or not."
Circle B Bar Reserve borders Lake Hancock, known for its dense alligator population. Alligators of all sizes are commonly seen at Circle B, where several trails are bordered by marshes or the lake.
This is not the first time images of alligators at Circle B have gone viral. In 2014, photographer Neil Furlong captured images showing a gigantic alligator thrashing a smaller alligator before devouring it. The photos Furlong posted on Facebook were reposted on the Huffington Post and other websites.
The office of the Polk County Parks and Natural Resources might have been swamped with media phone calls Monday whether it had not been closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Tabitha Biehl, environmental land stewardship coordinator, said she had been following the attention generated by Joiner's video and photos posted on social media.
Just how big is Mr. Humpback?
"I saw some people say 22 to 30 feet (in online comments)," Biehl said with a laugh. "Probably more realistic is around 12 feet. No one's had the opportunity to have a tape measure laying beside him."
Biehl said Mr. Humpback is almost certainly a male based on its size.
Managers of Circle B periodically close some trails, including Marsh Rabbit Run, because of alligator activity that can increase the danger for people. That usually happens during alligator nesting season in the spring.
Biehl said she had not had any recent discussions with her bosses about closing trails because of alligator activity.
"The alligator was doing what alligators do," Biehl said. "As far as we can tell from the video, it looks like (the observers are) close, but they're also staying back and nobody was moving toward the alligator."