This 8-foot alligator was caught in a Bloomingdale, Fla., back yard after being repeatedly spotted wandering the neighborhood for about a month. Photo by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office/Facebook

May 5 (UPI) -- An 8-foot alligator nicknamed the "Ghost Gator" for its ability to vanish has been captured after a month of stalking a Florida neighborhood.

Vincent and Angelika Tifer of Bloomingdale said the alligator turned up Thursday in their back yard, just outside the screened-in pool.


"All the sudden it started hissing at me and then it opened up its mouth and I went running," Vincent Tifer told WFTS-TV.

Deputies Caitlin LaVigne and Nathan Hall responded to the home with licensed trapper Robb Upthegrove to wrangle the reptile, nicknamed the "Ghost Gator" by neighbors who have spotted it during the past month only to have it vanish before authorities arrived.

"They'd been hunting for him. You know, they live in a 2 1/2-mile radius. He said they've been looking in this area because they haven't been able to find him," Tifer said.

Angelika Tifer captured video of Upthegrove and the deputies struggling with the alligator.

"You don't think it's going to happen in your back yard," she said.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office shared photos of the alligator's capture on Facebook.