Deputies expel small alligator from Hardee elementary school By FOX 13 News Staff Published HCSO photo ZOLFO SPRINGS, Fla. - A Hardee County school resource officer helped wrangle a scaly intruder this morning. A small alligator wandered onto campus at Zolfo Springs Elementary, so SRO Jennifer Soria and two fellow Hardee County Sheriff’s Office deputies had to remove the "uninvited guest" as they put it. After posing with their 'suspect,' deputies Tyler Gillard and Juan Rosado returned the 2-foot baby gator to the wild, away from campus. It is, of course, alligator mating season, when the gators are more active than usual, In addition to schools, they often turn up in pools, under cars, and even Publix parking lots.