'Monster' alligator filmed strolling around golf course in Florida

Staff said the 15ft alligator 'doesn't bother anybody and they don't bother him'

A giant alligator has been filmed strolling across a golf course in Florida, to the horror of a group of golfers.

“That is the biggest freakin’ alligator I have ever seen in my life,” Charles Helms was heard saying as he recorded the huge reptile.

He had been playing at a course in Palmetto when the group spotted the alligator getting up and lumbering towards a lake near the third hole.

“Jesus, that must be 15ft long,” a man could be heard saying behind the camera, with another adding: “You gotta be kidding me.”

The alligator was filmed at Buffalo Creek Golf Club in Florida. (YouTube)

As another man filming its progress past a bunker stepped nearer to the alligator, its size became apparent.

“You ever seen anything that big?” Mr Helms could be heard saying. “Holy c**p, that is a monster.”

Seemingly unaware of its audience, the alligator continued walking slowly across the course until it disappeared from sight.

Staff at the Buffalo Creek Golf Club said the reptile was a common feature and had become popular with customers.

Wendy Schofield, who works at its pro shop, told News 3: “He doesn't bother anybody and they don't bother him, he's like a mascot for the course.

"He has been here for a very, very long time, he's not new at all…the word has spread that this is a great place to come and play. He is the highlight, but we are worth the price too."

American alligators reside mostly in the freshwater rivers, lakes, swamps, and marshes of Florida and Louisiana, living for up to 50 years.

Males average 10 to 15ft (3 to 4.6m) in length and can weigh 1,000lb (453kg), while females grow to a maximum of about 9.8ft (3m).

The largest American alligator ever reported was supposedly 19.8ft (6m) long, although there have been doubts about the claim.

The carnivores feed mainly on fish, turtles, snakes, and small mammals but a hungry gator will eat “just about anything”, according to the National Geographic, including pets and sometimes humans.

Elsewhere in Florida, police divers recovered a human body being eaten by a pair of alligators on Monday.

The gruesome discovery was made by fishermen in the Everglades, near the town of Southwest Ranches, sparking an operation including armed police and alligator trappers.

Police told the Sun Sentinel newspaper the body appeared to have been in the water for a long time and the cause of death was unknown.