In a bizarre and instinctual survival tactic, alligators that normally lurk in a swamp in eastern North Carolina are now "frozen" beneath the murky water. Every inch of the reptiles’ bodies stay underwater — except for their snout. Officials at The Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach took to Facebook this week with a video that shows the gators icebound in the swamp with only their snouts protruding and a toothy grin sealed in place. “All our alligators in ice here,” George Howard, the manager at The Swamp Park, says in the video which had 12,000 views as of Thursday afternoon. “Eighteen American alligators are thinking ahead, as they poke their noses through the ice.” The gators use the tactic to survive when the water around them reaches freezing temperatures in the frigid winter months. To read more on this story, click here:Alligators 'Frozen' in North Carolina Swamp Exhibit Bizarre Survival Tactic
Two young kids in are captivated by their unusual new
neighbor, a 10-foot alligator.
The alligator first took up residence in Sonya Gilreath's
bushes Thursday morning.
"It didn't look very big to me," she said, adding
that it seemed like it could have been a baby alligator.
Police responded, Gilreath said, and as the gator laid
still, she and her 2-year-old and 3-year-old sat on the front porch "just
watching it."
"All of a sudden, it stood up, and I realized how
gigantic it was," she said. "I've never seen one this size before.
Not loose."
That's when Gilreath took her excited kids inside and
snapped the adorable photos from her kids' perspective.
"They thought it was really cool," she said.
The gator was 10 feet long, according to ABC affiliate
WCIV, and taken by local police back into the water. The Department of Natural
Resources was notified but did not intervene, WCIV said.
"There's a pond in front of our house and I watched
the alligator escort himself into that pond," Gilreath said. "And the
animal control and policemen left."
She said she called the Department of Natural Resources,
which told her it wouldn't remove the gator from a residential area, instead
calling it the homeowner association's responsibility.
"It's still in the pond and I really want it
gone," Gilreath said, adding that the homeowner association is looking
into the issue. "It is really scary having an animal that size... We
probably have about 10 kids on the street that walk to the school bus."
Even though the gator is still on the loose, Gilreath's
children are still talking about it today, she said, adding that they
definitely seemed more excited than afraid.
"I was trying to keep them from being scared,"
she said. "I don't want to put fear in them where they're afraid to go
outside."
The Goose Creek Police Department wrote on Facebook,
"If you see an alligator in your neighborhood, don't approach or attempt
to handle them on your own. Our animal control officers will respond and
determine the best course of action in these situations."
