{"id":1073,"date":"2026-05-26T20:08:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T20:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1073"},"modified":"2026-05-26T20:08:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T20:08:25","slug":"large-alligator-calmly-walked-house-to-house-like-a-stray-dog-nc-officials-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1073","title":{"rendered":"Large alligator calmly walked house to house like a stray dog, NC officials say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alligators tend to avoid people in North Carolina, so it was definitely unusual when one left its swamp on Memorial Day and began wandering Southport like a lost puppy.<\/p>\n

Read more Store closing at Crabtree mall in Raleigh offers discounts. What we know<\/a><\/p>\n

Photos and videos<\/a> shared on social media show the 9-foot gator was spotted lounging in the street, waddling across lawns, napping in driveways, sniffing at flowerbeds, and sneaking into backyards.<\/p>\n

Southport police<\/a> received as many as 20 calls about it, starting at 3 a.m. The department eventually posted an alert on social media, warning Stuart Avenue residents to be on the lookout for \u201ca large alligator.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I was out working on the (flower) bed this morning and the police said I may want to get in the house. Now, I know why,\u201d Julie St Germain-Sylvestre posted on Facebook, sharing video of the alligator sniffing at her mulch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you SPT PD for giving me the advanced warning that he was making his way on over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video recorded by Terence Hines shows the gator was \u201cwalking through Southport, just chillin\u2019,\u201d and made no pretense of hiding. Some social media commenters called the sight terrifying, but more seemed to find humor in the audacity.<\/p>\n

Read more Two ADs, one handoff: Bubba Cunningham and Steve Newmark talk UNC transition<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEastern Carolina yard dog. Feral, will bite, do not attempt to feed or adopt,\u201d Tom Toby<\/a> posted on Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is looking for the neighborhood Memorial Day BBQ,\u201d Russell Bradley<\/a> wrote.<\/p>\n

The alligator was later captured by specially trained Southport police officers in the 200 block of Stuart Avenue and relocated to a less populated site, officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of the calls were from residents who feared the alligator because it was getting so close to their doors and in their yards,\u201d town officials told The Charlotte Observer.<\/p>\n

The alligator\u2019s new home was not revealed, but Stuart Avenue is not far from the murky Cape Fear River, which is popular with alligators.<\/p>\n

Southport is about a 160-mile drive southeast from downtown Raleigh.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 3:59 PM<\/span> with the headline “Large alligator calmly walked house to house like a stray dog, NC officials say.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more 400\u2011apartment project advances as Durham\u2019s demand for housing stays hot<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

9-foot alligator spent Memorial Day calmly wandering neighborhood in Southport, North Carolina, prompting police department to cart it away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nLarge alligator calmly walked house to house like a stray dog, NC officials say - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1073\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Large alligator calmly walked house to house like a stray dog, NC officials say - 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