It was just another relaxing summer day on the Isle of Palms with some friends a couple of years ago, until we looked down towards the pier and noticed the normally sitting tourists rushing closer to the water. As beach patrol rushed past us on the beach, we wanted to see what the commotion was about, so we headed south towards the pier. As we approached the situation, we came upon an unexpected creature. It was an alligator! By this point, beach patrol had called in an expert to handle the gator and were in the process of loading him in their truck to take them back to its normal freshwater habitat. Having seen this, it made me wonder how often does this occur?
According to a Department of Natural Resources Coordinator, Sam Chappelear, alligators can live in brackish waters or areas where the salinity is more than in freshwater, but still less than seawater. He also noted that alligators are usually spotted around once a year in the surf in the Charleston area, with the summer months being the most common time. Chappelear believed that a typical gator in that situation would have tried to find a deserted stretch of beach where it could come ashore and maybe find its way back to its normal habitat but when a human approached, it returned to the surf.
The Charleston area is not the only part of the South Carolina coast where this occurs, as this photo was taken on Hilton Head Island's Coligny Beach in July of 2010. They estimated this Alligator to be around 9 ft. long, definitely not something you would want to come across while playing in the surf.
Here is a video of the one of the most recent sightings, occurring on June 16, 2011 on IOP, SC
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2 comments:
Is the photo at the top the gator you saw at IOP?
I can't wait to tell my husband about this. Now when he surfs now he can be worried about alligators along with sharks, jellyfish, and giant squids! Maybe he will spend more time at home with me now! :)
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