Gate slams shut, trapping 9-foot alligator in backyard of NC home. Things got awkward

A 9-foot alligator wandered into someone’s fenced-in yard in coastal North Carolina and got stuck when the gate slammed shut behind it.

It happened Saturday, May 6, in Sunset Beach and the homeowner was lucky enough to notice the alligator before stepping out the backdoor. Sunset Beach is a coastal tourist destination about 175 miles south of Raleigh on the South Carolina border.

“The alligator had unsuccessfully attempted to exit through the rails of the fence. The resident could tell the alligator couldn’t get out, and decided it was time to call for help,” police said in a news release.

“Out of concern for the safety of the alligator officers came to its aid. The alligator wasn’t happy, as it didn’t realize (officers) were there to help.”

Linda Townsend lives next door and called the three officers “alligator wrestlers,” sharing videos showing they were “fearless” as they pulled the hissing alligator from the yard with steel catch poles.

“We think the gate wasn’t latched,” Townsend wrote on Facebook. “She went in, it closed and she was trapped. They do not climb these metal fences.”

Sunset Beach police report the alligator was loaded into the back of a pickup and “returned to the neighborhood pond.”

Alligators are native to the area and known to get as big as 13 feet and 500 pounds, the state reports. They are a protected species in the state and mate May through June. During those months, males are known to wander into unfamiliar turf in search of females.

“Alligators are dangerous animals. Do not approach them or allow children to approach them. Alligators can move very quickly over short distances,” police noted in their Facebook post.

This story was originally published May 8, 2023 at 6:25 AM with the headline "Gate slams shut, trapping 9-foot alligator in backyard of NC home. Things got awkward."