SUNSET BEACH, N.C. News — It was a sight not often seen last week in a North Carolina neighborhood — police and wildlife officials walking a 9-foot alligator on a leash.
According to police, officers responded to the area in reference to complaints of a gator walking through the neighborhood. Residents told police that not only was the gator taking a stroll, it had also tried breaking into the community pool. When officers got to the scene, they saw that the reptile had broken through the porch lattice at the community’s reservation office.
“Out of concern for the safety of property owners and neighborhood residents, the gator was relocated to a nearby pond,” police wrote on Facebook. Along with the post was a picture of the alligator being walked on a leash.
Oyster Bay Drive is located in the middle of the Oyster Bay Golf Links course, near multiple ponds and not far from the Intracoastal Waterway.
According to more than 20 Google reviews of the golf course, gators are not uncommon on the links. It’s not exactly clear if the gators often roam the neighborhood, though.
Alligators are not as prevalent in North Carolina as in other southern states like South Carolina, Charlotte and Georgia, but there are significant populations in the more coastal and swampy areas here. You can check out the video at the top of the page to see an alligator walk around Wilmington.
