Strolling Gator, Flasher on Campus, Hands Off Sea Turtles: Weird Florida

Patch operates 23 daily news sites in Florida. The following are some of the wacky, wonderful or just plain weird stories that made headlines over the past few weeks:

Watch: Gator Strolls Through Florida Neighborhood

Residents of Wilderness Lake Preserve recently had a close encounter of the reptilian kind courtesy of an alligator with a passion for roaming.

Woman Asked Man to Shower, Stole His Motorcycle, Deputies Say

A man who decided to meet up with a woman he met on Facebook recently found himself out of a motorcycle, but did get a shower out of the deal, deputies say.

USF Flasher Struck 3 Times in 1 Night, Police Say

The University of South Florida Police Department is looking for help finding a man officers say exposed himself to students on the school's Tampa campus several times in the same night.

Brain-Eating Amoeba: Florida Teen Defies the Odds

The 16-year-old Broward County boy who contracted Naegleria fowleri, also known as the brain-eating amoeba, earlier this month has defied the odds. Sebastian DeLeon is the fourth person in the United States to have survived a run-in with the deadly amoeba in the past 50 years.

Child Protection Investigator Faked Records: Pasco Sheriff Says

A 34-year-old Wesley Chapel woman is out of a job and faces criminal charges after the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said she falsified public records.

‘Hands Off’ Sea Turtle Hatchlings, Wildlife Officers Warn

As sea turtle hatchlings begin to emerge from their nests to make their way out to the ocean, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is warning beachgoers to adopt a “hands off” policy.

Zika Virus: Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Requested for Pinellas

Several Pinellas County lawmakers have joined forces to ask the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services for emergency authorization to allow the use of genetically modified mosquitoes in Pinellas to help kill off the Zika-carrying Aedes aegyptimosquito should the need arise.

Photo courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission