Knock, knock: No joke, it's an alligator at the front door

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida family thought someone was trying to break into their apartment when they heard knocking sounds at 4 a.m.

It turns out a 5-foot alligator was outside their front door. And so were Tampa police officers.

Police and Florida Fish and Wildlife officers caught the gator and returned it to the wild.

It was the second such alligator-knocking incident in the South in recent weeks.

Earlier this month a gator wandered into a neighborhood near Charleston, South Carolina, and appeared to reach for the doorbell at one home. The incident was caught on video by Gary Rogers, whose daughter Danielle Barkley lives nearby.

Barkley says alligators have visited the neighborhood before. But she said it was the first time one seemed to reach for the doorbell.