Don’t harass alligators, Fripp Island says as photo of man bugging gator is investigated
The S.C. Department of Natural Resources says it plans to charge a man with molesting an alligator after a Facebook post over the weekend showed the man holding a large alligator’s tail.
The Fripp Island Golf & Beach Resort posted a photo on Facebook Saturday morning showing the harassment. Another man appears to be taking a photo of the gator. The photo is described as “recent,” but a date is not provided.
“We are sharing this incident in hopes that the violators will be found, not to encourage this behavior,” the Facebook post said.
Fripp Island Resort, in the post, said Fripp is a wildlife habitat and the “harassment, enticement or feeding of wildlife is both illegal and dangerous.”
On Sunday, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources identified the man in the photo and said he would be charged with molesting an alligator, a misdemeanor that carries a fine between $100 to $150 or 30 days in prison. “It’s against the law and this guy is going to pay a pretty hefty price,” said department spokesman David Lucas. “But the safety issue is so much more serious than that. You could lose your life.”
Those with information about the incident are asked to call Justin Gantt with DNR at 800-922-5431 or Fripp Island Security at 843-838-2334.
This isn’t the first time someone on Fripp Island has had a run-in with local wildlife.
In 2013, an Ohio man received a confidential settlement following a 2009 alligator attack at Fripp in which his arm was bitten off.
The man, 77 at the time, was visiting his son on the island. They were playing golf on the 11th hole of the island’s Ocean Creek Golf Course when Wiencek leaned down at the edge of a lagoon to pick up his ball. Suddenly the 400-pound alligator grabbed him by his arm, according to media reports, and dragged him into a pond.
The ruling against Fripp Island Resort Inc. was thought to be the nation’s first successful claim against a private development involving a wild alligator attack, according to Chappell, Smith & Arden, the law firm that represented the Ohio man.
This story was originally published March 27, 2021 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Don’t harass alligators, Fripp Island says as photo of man bugging gator is investigated."
