A nearly eight-foot alligator took a Florida woman by surprise this weekend when it barged into her Venice home and made a beeline for the kitchen. Residents must be on the alert as gator sightings are expected to increase with the onset of mating season.

Mary Hollenback was settling in for a quiet Sunday afternoon in front of the TV when her day took an unexpected turn, her screen door began rattling. "So, I’m sitting on my sofa, it's late in the afternoon. I’m just watching TV, and I heard my front door rattle, my screen door." Hollenback recalled in a WFLA interview. Thinking it was a confused visitor at her Grand Palm home, she investigated only to find a 7-foot-11 gator inside.

According to Hollenback's report to NBC Miami, the door had a magnetic closure that failed to keep the intruder out, the gator just pushed right through. Recognizing the immediate danger, she cautiously approached the phone near the creature to dial 911. "My mindset was like, 'Oh, my goodness, I have an alligator in my house,' and at the same time, I’m thinking, 'I have an alligator in my house, how am I gonna get rid of the guy,'" Hollenback told NBC Miami.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office responded swiftly to the unusual distress call. "The one deputy was really pretty funny because he told me that when he saw the report, he didn’t believe me until he walked in the house and saw the gator," Hollenback said to WFLA. She joked about the incident's virality online, saying, "I mean, this story just keeps growing and growing. My 15 minutes of fame." Despite the scare, wildlife officers safely removed the unwelcome guest, with no harm done to Hollenback or her home.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission experts remind residents that alligator mating season runs from April through June, increasing potential encounters with these reptiles. Vigilance is advised near water bodies, and encounters with aggressive gators should be reported to the FWC’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 1-866-FWC-GATOR.