Police in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, were surprised to find an eight-foot-long alligator hanging out in their parking lot when they arrived at the station on Monday morning.
“Talk about a trespasser!” the department wrote on social media along with photos showing officials wrangling the reptile.
The department noted that they are sometimes asked to respond to similar animal control calls, but had never had an alligator come to the station.
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“Officer Huddleston was the first to arrive when he noticed a very large object in one of the parking spaces,” the department said in the post, adding that they had expected it to be a “typical Monday morning.”
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The post continued: “Officer Huddleston parked his vehicle to get a closer look and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. An eight-foot two inch, male alligator had wandered his way into the Police Department employee parking lot.”
The department said that Sgt. Harden, who is licensed by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to remove alligators, with the help of staff members was able to wrangle the gator.
It was relocated to a nearby pond “out of concern for the safety of our employees and the alligator.”
“You often hear the saying ‘keep your eyes on your surroundings’ and today is a perfect example of why you should always be aware of your surroundings,” the post added.
Alligators are common along the coast of North Carolina, living in bays, lakes, rivers, creeks, marshes, swamps and ponds, according to North Carolina Wildlife.
Late last month, firefighters in Brunswick County, North Carolina, were forced to use a hose on a 12-foot alligator that was seen lunging at cars on a dark road.
“With a gentle shower deployed to encourage a retreat, the gator finally decided he was done with civilization for the time being and finally moved on back into his more natural habitat,” the fire department wrote on social media.
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