A young alligator showed up in someone’s swimming pool in South Carolina, seemingly daring anyone to join it.
The intrusion happened at a home near Pawleys Island, about a 70-mile drive northeast from Charleston, and homeowner Keith Suttle estimates the squatter was about 4 feet long.
“He would swim around for awhile, get out, lay on the pool deck, jump back in and just float around,” Suttle told McClatchy News. “No stress.”
No stress for the gator, that is.
Suttle said he was on the phone with a client Wednesday, July 10, when a neighbor sent a strange text informing him of an alligator in his pool.
“As soon as I saw the text I walked out on our back deck and saw him/her just chillin’ in the water. Naturally I was shocked and my first thought was how do I get it out,” Suttle said.
“Our yard is completely fenced, surprised he could squeeze through! We live on the marsh between Litchfield Beach and the mainland.”
Tasked with finding a solution, Suttle sought advice from the Pawleys Island Peeps Facebook group and its 57,000 members. Among the nearly 500 responses were suggestions like “pick him up by his tail,” “scoop up and throw in neighbor’s yard” and call a professional snake catcher.
Suttle eventually connected with a wildlife rescuer based out of Myrtle Beach. She showed up with a net several hours later.
“As soon as she put the net in the water he dove to the bottom and appeared to ‘run’ around. In less than 10 minutes they had him out, mouth taped, wrapped in a towel and off to his new habitat,” Suttle said.
The alligator was released into a nearby river and has yet to return, he said.
