11-Foot Alligator Enters Florida Home

CLEARWATER, Florida (CBS) -- Many people would call this a nightmare: Imagine waking up to this massive gator inside your house.

As Michelle Miller reports, that was the case for one Florida woman early yesterday morning.

Clearwater, Florida resident Mary Wischhusen got quite the wake-up call around 3:30 a.m. Friday.

"I have a gigantic alligator sitting in my kitchen. A huge one," Wischhusen said.

An 11-foot alligator broke into her home through a low kitchen window. The first 911 call came in just minutes earlier when Patricia Picora, a newspaper delivery driver, spotted the gator when it was still outside the home.

"When I approached further closer he was already then laying in the walkway by the front door," Picora said.

The unwanted visitor spent about an hour inside the house before being taken out by trappers. During the apprehension, the alligator knocked over a wine shelf and suffered minor cuts from the broken glass. No other injuries were reported.

"I would not have wanted to be woken up and opening my door seeing that creature because he was very very huge," Picora said.

In 2018, over 8 thousand alligators were removed from Florida homes.