A woman in Florida pulled an alligator out of her yoga pants during a traffic stop on Monday, May 6.
She and the male driver were in a pickup truck when it was stopped by police, around 3:15 a.m., in Charlotte County, Florida. Deputies stopped the vehicle after seeing it run a stop sign, according to a report from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office obtained by ABC 7.
The 22-year-old driver told deputies that he and the woman were coming from an underpass where they had stopped to collect wildlife, according to the report.
The deputy let them go with a warning for the stop sign violation. The deputies also asked to see the animals.
Not to be outdone by #Floridaman, a #FloridaWoman pulled this alligator out of her pants this morning during traffic stop after being asked the standard “Do you have anything else?” She also had 41 3-stripe turtles in the car. @MyFWC responded to take over the investigation. pic.twitter.com/UdZsDBvh9f
— Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office (@CCSOFLSheriff) May 6, 2019
The driver opened his bag and showed the deputies clothes and other personal items, according to the report obtained by ABC 7. The 25-year-old woman opened her bag to reveal 41 small turtles.
The deputies then asked her if she had anything else. She then pulled a small, 1-foot long alligator out of the yoga pants she was wearing and put it in the bed of the truck.
The Florida Fish Wildlife and Conservation Commission were called to the scene to investigate the wildlife.
After conservation officials arrived, they determined that the two turtle species that the woman had in her possession, along with the alligator, were regulated species, NBC 2 reported.
The driver and passenger were both cited for having the animals and violating bag limits. The reptiles were seized by authorities, and then released back into the wild.
According to The Smoking Gun, the woman’s name is Ariel LeQuire and the man’s name is Michael Clemons. LeQuire has worked as a crabber in the past.
LeQuire was reportedly convicted in 2016 of letting animals run at large.
“Not to be outdone by #Floridaman, a #FloridaWoman pulled this alligator out of her pants this morning during traffic stop after being asked the standard “Do you have anything else?” She also had 41 3-stripe turtles in the car. @MyFWC responded to take over the investigation,” wrote the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office on Twitter.
The #Floridaman and #FloridaWoman hashtags reflect an ongoing social media joke about people from Florida engaging in wild activities and strange crimes.
There is also a Floridaman.com website dedicated to such news, with accompanying merchandise.
Many people on Facebook who responded to the post about the alligator through a Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post said they were unclear on how the woman was able to fit an alligator into her yoga pants.
The Florida Fish Wildlife and Conservation Commission says alligators have been in Florida for centuries and that they can be found in all of Florida’s 67 counties.
The website says that because of Florida’s recent growth in the population of humans, who seek more waterfront homes and water-based activities, there is more potential for conflict between humans and alligators.
Defenders of Wildlife says that about 1.25 million alligators live in Florida. The majority of American alligators live in both Florida and Louisiana. About five million wild American alligators live in the United States, spread across the American Southeast.
