Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Sheriff's deputies in Florida were called to a Waffle House restaurant to remove an alligator spotted loitering outside the eatery.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said deputies responded to the restaurant along State Road 60 on Tuesday evening when an approximately 5-foot gator was spotted lurking outside the business.


Video from the scene shows deputies making repeated attempts to cover the alligator's head with blankets to keep it calm and subdued.

The reptile fled at one point, leading deputies on a slow-speed foot chase before one was able to jump on the animal's back and tape up its legs and jaws.

A pair of trappers were called to a small lake on private property in December when drivers working on a construction project discovered a 12-foot-long, 500-pound alligator lurking on the property. The gator was successfully captured and taken to a gator farm.