Alligator is photographed on floating bed in Florida and the jokes just keep coming

The one-two punch of hurricanes Helene and Milton sent tons of debris across Florida and among the more absurd discoveries made in the aftermath is an alligator floating atop a mattress, photos show.

A mattress that still had its fitted sheets and blankets in place.

The bizarre sight was photographed Saturday, Oct. 12, by Tracy Kirkpatrick in Suwannee, near Highway 349 in Florida’s Big Bend region. The alligator appeared to be sunbathing.

“I had just come back from getting lunch ... when I saw this gator,” Kirkpatrick said. “We had been wondering whose perfectly made bed had landed in the canal. Well, it was the gator’s water bed.”

Commenters have noted the gator is simply making the best of a bad situation, while some have marveled that the bed “stayed made.”

Suwannee resident Diane Strickland reports the mattress has been floating “up and down our canals” since Hurricane Helene hit the state on Sept. 26.

“It emphasizes the need to make sure your bed is properly made every day as you never know what will happen,” she wrote.

“We love our wildlife so much here in Suwannee that we keep them as comfortable as possible.”

No one has come forward to demand the alligator surrender the mattress, Kirkpatrick reported on Facebook.

“We are still waiting for that,” she said.

Suwannee is along the Gulf of Mexico in Dixie County, about a 160-mile drive northwest from Tampa

Helene made landfall about an 80-mile drive north of Suwannee near Perry, the National Weather Service reports. Storm surge levels were estimated at 15 feet in parts of Dixie and Taylor counties, officials say.

This story was originally published October 16, 2024 at 5:07 AM with the headline "Alligator is photographed on floating bed in Florida and the jokes just keep coming."