Rascally alligator shows up in swimming pool and refuses to leave, SC homeowner says
.jpg "Alligators are native to coastal South Carolina, and are a protected game species. Only people with permits can harvest them. This is not the gator found in the pool.")
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 wildlife rescuers at The Exotic Hause in Myrtle Beach. Director Kaitlin Hause showed up a few hours later with a net.
“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 about a mile away in a nearby river and has yet to return, he said.
This story was originally published July 15, 2024 at 7:49 AM with the headline "Rascally alligator shows up in swimming pool and refuses to leave, SC homeowner says."