500 lb alligator wrestled from South Carolina lagoon

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By Cassie Foss | Island Packet (Hilton Head S.C.)

Local animal rustlers trapped a "monster" of an alligator near a busy Hilton Head Island thoroughfare Wednesday as hundreds gathered to watch.

Three Critter Management workers removed the 11-foot-long, 500-pound alligator from a tiny lagoon just north of Pope Avenue, near the Coligny area, at about 1 p.m., company operations director Billy Karijanian said.

A crowd had gathered to gawk at the massive animal, which had parked itself underneath a well-traversed foot bridge over a lagoon near Holy Family Catholic Church, Karijanian said.

"It's a big sucker," he said. "He was like a frog in a puddle. He was way too big for that pond."

At about 10 a.m., pedestrians notified church staff, who called town officials, who notified Critter Management. Town officials were concerned a passer-by would get too close to the alligator, Karijanian said.

Read the complete story at islandpacket.com

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