Alligator shows up outside Mexican eatery and taunts patron, North Carolina cops say

A 5-foot alligator showed up at a restaurant on the North Carolina coast and intimidated someone trying to get into their car, according to police.

It happened Thursday, June 20, at Las Palmeras Mexican Restaurant in Sunset Beach, forcing an exasperated patron to call the cops.

“When the officers arrived, the alligator was tucked under the vehicle with his head peering out from the driver’s side door blocking access to the vehicle,” Sunset Beach police said in a June 21 news release.

“Out of concern for the safety of the vehicle owner, customers of Las Palmeras and the alligator, the alligator was safely relocated.”

A photo shared by police on Facebook shows the reptile was conspicuous to the point of appearing a little goofy.

Two licensed trappers responded — one a police sergeant — and pulled the alligator out and escorted it to “a nearby pond,” officials said.

The Facebook post had hundreds of reactions and comments as of June 24, many from people who were horrified.

“I just can’t believe it got that far with no one noticing it walking around the shopping center,” Dawn Haskett Leonard wrote on Facebook.

“Good thing it was during the daylight. At night (you) ... wouldn’t have seen him!” Sandy Rutkowski Comegys posted.

“He just wanted some queso and chips,” Julie Lowe wrote.

Alligators are native to North Carolina and protected by state law. The reptiles are allowed to roam where they please, as long as they don’t put the public at risk.

That makes yards, roads and parking lots off limits to the trespassing reptiles, police said.

As for the possibility of queso and chips, state law forbids feeding alligators in the wild, police said.

Sunset Beach is about a 180-mile drive southeast of Raleigh.

This story was originally published June 24, 2024 at 4:30 AM with the headline "Alligator shows up outside Mexican eatery and taunts patron, North Carolina cops say."