After a slew of shocking alligator sightings across Florida, a massive 10-foot gator was caught roaming the streets of a quiet town in South Carolina.
Several neighbors in the Myrtle Beach Golf and Yacht Community were shocked to find a "monster" alligator walking along the sidewalks, down the streets and even across a resident's patio on Sunday afternoon. According to a report from WPDE, the alligator measured to a whopping 10 feet in length.
Neighbor Margie Meek posted the now viral footage of the gator's stroll to her Facebook page over the weekend. The clip begins with a couple of neighbors keeping their distance as the huge reptile walks on the lawn across the street.
"Holy mackerel," one jarred woman says. "I'd back up," another advises.
The video ends as the 10-foot alligator finds a sunny patch of grass and lays down on the front lawn.
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The post, captioned, "Look what I came home to. Right out side my neighbors house," has since garnered over 3.6 million views and more than 21,000 likes on the platform. Many expressed their admiration for the massive reptile.
"He is AWESOME! Then again I live in Florida less than two miles from wetlands where these big boys are all the time...You leave them alone and they aren't the least bit interested in you," one viewer shared. "Omg it's huge! Good thing it wasn't nighttime you may have not seen the monster until it was [too] late," another added.
Several were curious if the gator left after sunbathing. Meek wrote in the comments it had then made its way on a neighboring porch. "We're trying to get ahold of [the neighbor] so he doesn't come out," she said. A short while later, she confirmed it made its way back out of the area on its own.
Meek reflected in a statement to WPDE that finding the gator was an "incredible" experience.
"It was incredible I loved it. I mean I know they're dangerous animals, which is why I was a coward and hung out in my car. But still, it was amazing," Meek told the outlet.
"It was so cool. He seemed so docile but I know he wasn't. It was freaking amazing!" she added in a Facebook comment on the post.
Additional footage of the alligator was later posted by another neighbor Tom Hobby. In that clip, which has been viewed over 45,000 times since Sunday, the gator roams on another front lawn before resting again in front of an electric power box on a neighboring property.
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According to a report from Myrtle Beach Online, the neighborhood borders the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, which is likely where the gator originated from. As of Monday, Meek told her Facebook following the alligator was "still roaming" the area. It was also not immediately clear if once caught the gator would be euthanized for its recent excursion.
Newsweek reached out to Meek and Hobby for comment on the videos, but did not hear back in time for publication.
Although many viral alligator sightings have been from Florida this gator mating season, South Carolina has also been a hot-spot for the reptiles in recent years. In 2019, a huge alligator was captured on video performing a "death roll" as wranglers tried to escort it from the area. Last May, another gator in the state killed a woman who allegedly tried to pet it. In April, a 12-foot alligator was found with a dog tag estimated to be 25 years old in its stomach.
