Vacationing children lasso Florida alligator with noose

An alligator surfaces in a pond near located near the Space Shuttle Discovery as it sits on launch pad 39b at Kennedy Space Center 8 December 2006 in Cape Canaveral, Florida (Getty Images)

A group of children holidaying in Florida found themselves in hot water after they lassoed an alligator and dragged it to shore with the noose around its neck, local reports have said.

The group of children, aged 16, eight, and six, are said to have hooked a rope around the alligator and dragged it to shore at Fay Lake Wilderness Park on Thursday, Florida Today reported.

The alligator returned to the water with the noose still intact around its neck and the Florida Wildlife Commission and Brevard County Sheriff’s Office arrived to deal with the incident.

The oldest of the three children was issued a citation for feeding, enticing or molesting alligators and educated on alligator safety in the state, Wildlife Commission spokesperson Chad Weber told the outlet.

The other two were considered too young for a similar measure, with Mr Weber saying they “weren’t familiar with the laws in the state of Florida”.

Mr Weber told the newspaper that the wildlife commission was forced to call an alligator trapper to remove the rope from around the beast’s neck and trap it in the name of public safety.

Following the incident, the reptile will either be moved to another location or euthanised, as its negative interaction with humans leaves it agitated and a potential threat.

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