ISLAMORADA, Fla. – A Florida Keys homeowner found an unwelcome guest in his swimming pool Thursday morning.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office posted a picture on social media showing a crocodile that had made its way into the backyard pool near mile marker 77 on Lower Matecumbe Key.
Deputies and officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission worked together to remove the rather large crocodile, estimated to be about 8 feet long, from the pool.
"They were very surprised this morning when they woke up and found this, you know, 8-foot crocodile just chilling in their pool," FWC Officer Bobby Dube told Local 10 News.
The man who lives at the $6 million home moved there four days ago from Pennsylvania.
"He thought it was a toy," contractor Bob Mceoroy said. "He thought someone put a floatie in the pool."
Sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin said the crocodile returned to the ocean.
"When they were just hanging around the pool deciding how they were going to capture this thing, the crocodile decided he had enough and crawled out of the pool and back into the Atlantic Ocean," Dube said.