By Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. — Alligators aren’t known for their sense of humor, but one appeared to be teasing deputies on the night shift in southeastern North Carolina.
The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office says it started late Monday, May 13, when multiple passersby reported a large alligator was lounging on U.S. 17 South near the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge. That’s near Wilmington , about a 130-mile drive southeast of Raleigh .
Three deputies were sent to investigate and “bravely” removed the beast, which wasn’t easy.
Then, a few hours later, another round of calls came about another alligator on U.S. 17, only it wasn’t another alligator. It was the same as before, apparently waiting to see if the same three deputies showed up.
And they did.
“Deputies safely removed the gator twice from Highway 17S entering Brunswick County,” the sheriff’s office said. “Thankfully, the alligator was saved from traffic on the highway and those traveling the highway were saved from the gator!”
The alligator appeared to be 8 to 10 feet long, kind of chubby, and irritable. Video shows it growled and stubbornly refused to move its legs as deputies pulled it along with a rope.
It also tried using the notorious alligator “death roll” to shake them off, but the equally stubborn deputies refused to let go. The sheriff’s office identified the trio as deputies L. Branch , B. Sutton and J. Nichter.
Details of the alligator’s new home were not released, but the nearby Cape Fear River is home to the reptiles.
May through June is alligator mating season in North Carolina, when males wander into unfamiliar turf in search of females, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission says.
That could explain why the alligator kept getting into the road.
Or maybe it was just having some fun at the expense of the deputies.
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