Alligator found on dark road north of Charlotte, far from its known range, NC cops say
.jpg "Alligators are native to North Carolina, but are not known to live west of Robeson County. That’s about 125 miles east of where an alligator was found Aug. 4 in Rowan County, officials say. The alligator pictured is not the one found in Rowan County.")
A 4-foot alligator was caught wandering a dark road in Rowan County, North Carolina, which is about 125 miles northwest of their known range in the state.
How it got there is a riddle the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office has yet to solve.
The reptile was discovered Sunday, Aug. 4, by an employee of the sheriff’s office.
“At approximately 4:46 a.m., (a sergeant) was traveling on Long Ferry Road heading into Spencer, when he located the alligator in the roadway,” the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office said in Facebook post.
“Officers from N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission responded and took custody of the alligator. ... At this time, it is not known where the gator came from.”
The alligator was taken to a state-licensed facility for evaluation, state officials said.
Spencer is about a 45-mile drive northeast from Charlotte.
The known range for alligators in the state ends at the Robeson County line, which about four counties southeast of Charlotte.
Long Ferry Road is near tributaries that drain into High Rock Lake, maps show. However, nothing indicates the alligator came from one of those creeks, officials said.
“There was not a water source in the immediate area,” Scott Strickland with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission told McClatchy News.
“While we probably won’t know for sure, it is very safe to say that it was a pet that either escaped or was dumped out. It could have gotten too big and they got rid of it. Either way, it is unlawful to possess an alligator in captivity.”
A Facebook post about the discovery had gotten more than 800 reactions and comments as of Aug. 6, including many who assumed it came from the lake.
“How, where and why. I’m scared now lol. This is why I don’t go to the lake. I’m terrified,” Brooke Ashton posted on the sheriff’s office Facebook page.
“Yep I’m not swimming at High Rock anymore,” Ohagi Cole wrote.
An alligator was found in the lake in 2019 and it was also a young one, at just 2 feet, 6 inches, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission reported.
State officials suspected that alligator was a pet illegally released into the lake.
A homeowner along the lake reported seeing the alligator in Abbotts Creek south of Lexington, the Winston-Salem Journal reported. State officials euthanized the alligator, out of concern it could be carrying diseases, the Journal reported.
Alligators are native to the North Carolina coast, with the largest population in the southeastern part of the state, according to the wildlife resources commission.
Males can grow to about 13 feet and weigh as much as 500 pounds, while females usually max out at 9 feet and 200 pounds, state officials say.
This story was originally published August 6, 2024 at 7:13 AM with the headline "Alligator found on dark road north of Charlotte, far from its known range, NC cops say."