From The Amphibians Are Getting Smarter Department:

Sun-Sentinel.com: Gator looks both ways, then crosses turnpike ramp

A 9-foot alligator on Tuesday appeared to have taken a swamp lesson in traffic safety.

The reptile, which spent the morning rush hour at the PGA Boulevard exit of Florida's Turnpike at Palm Beach Gardens, looked both ways before crossing the ramp, according to Florida Highway Patrol Trooper D. Sims.

"It cracked me up," Sims said later.

The Highway Patrol received a gator sighting call about 7:30 a.m. Driving to the turnpike's northbound lane PGA exit, Sims pulled over, looked around -- but didn't see anything.

So he monitored traffic, wrote a few citations and, some time after 8 a.m., noticed a gator's head pop out of the grass alongside the turnpike.

"He looked like a baby," Sims said, noting the top of the reptile's head and a back leg appeared injured. "I felt sorry for him."

A nine foot baby? We are in trouble.

Sims called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and, in the meantime, kept an eye on the gator to make sure it didn't head into traffic.

The gator lay there a few minutes, then moved toward the turnpike's exit ramp, Sims said.

The reptile slowly looked to the left, looked to the right and, when there was a break in traffic, crossed safely before entering high grass near the water on the ramp's far side, Sims reported.

Fish and Wildlife officers were unable to find the gator, according to spokesperson Dani Moschella.

Sharing the roads with alligators "doesn't happen every day, but it does happen," said Willie Puz of Fish and Wildlife.

Last week state wildlife officials said they will extend Florida's annual gator hunt from five to 11 weeks in an effort to curb the reptiles' numbers.

Beware of tall green guys with sunglasses and mustaches trying to buy hunting licenses.

In the past week, alligators have been responsible for the deaths of three people in Florida, officials said. Until then, there had been 17 alligator-related fatalities since 1948.