Elderly Woman Spots Orange Gator in Fla. Neighborhood

Wildlife officials say color isn't genetic

You usually only see orange-clad gators in Florida at Ben Hill Griffin Satdium in Gainesville, but over in Venice, they've got the real thing.

Sylvia Mythen snapped a photo of a bright orange alligator sunning in a neighborhood canal, but state wildlife officials said Thursday that the color isn't genetic.

Experts with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said they believe the gator may have been covered in paint or some other orange substance.

Mythen, who is in her 70s, said she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw it.

"When I passed by and I saw an orange alligator, it was like, 'Did I really see that?'" Mythen told the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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