'There's an alligator at my front door!' See the 8-foot gator that crawled in this Florida kitchen

You've heard of an alligator in the elevator, but how about the alligator in the kitchen?

That's what one Florida resident experienced firsthand recently when a nearly 8-foot alligator barged into her home and got stuck in her kitchen.

It's officially alligator mating season, so the giant reptiles are traveling far and wide, showing up in pools, golf courses and apparently, as dinner guests.

Mary Hollenback of Venice, Florida told USA TODAY that she thought it was a neighbor accidentally coming in her house when the screen door rattled on March 28.

"So I come around the corner expecting to tell somebody they were in the wrong place," she said in an interview. "And, lo and behold, there's an alligator at my front door!"

Mating season:Here's what to do if an alligator is in your yard, pool or neighborhood. No, you can't shoot it

Alligator stuck in kitchen 'very clearly upset'

Hollenback said she was shaking so badly at the intruder, all she could think to do was call 911.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed in a statement shared with USA TODAY that it sent a nuisance alligator trapper to the private residence on March 28.

Hollenback said her wooden floors are slippery and the reptile had trouble moving, but somehow it ended up stuck in the kitchen.

"He was just sort of creeping his way forward...and wound up stuck in my kitchen between the island and the refrigerator," Hollenback said. "He was very clearly upset."

She said she lives in a neighborhood with several ponds, and he might have wandered in from the pond across the street from her house.

The FWC said the gator was 7 feet, 11 inches long, and was transferred to an alligator farm. Video from the rescue shows it took four officials to get the gator into the bed of the truck.

April kicks off alligator mating season

Close encounters like this are going to be more common over the next few months, especially in Florida, home to approximately 1.3 million alligators.

Alligator mating season started in April and will last through June. During this time, male alligators get more aggressive and some kick weaker males out of their turf.

The alligators that get sent packing can travel hundreds of acres of land, making them more likely to turn up in residential pools, golf courses or yards.

Contributing: Lianna Norman, Victoria Brown; USA TODAY Network