A Georgia deputy was charged at by a large hissing alligator โ and authorities later spotted the reptile via drone.
The Hall County Sheriff's Office deputy was with the office's K-9 teams, conducting a training exercise on Tuesday, when the encounter occurred, police said on social media. The training exercise was being conducted near a pond, the sheriff's office said.
The deputy "heard a hissing sound," police said, and when he looked up, he saw the alligator with its mouth open.
The gator then charged the deputy, who avoided it by running up an embankment. Police said he was able to "evade the animal" and was not injured in the incident, which was reported to the state's Department of Natural Resources. The deputy estimated that the alligator was between seven and nine feet long.
Drone photo and video shows the alligator submerged in muddy water, unmoving. The images were captured by a lieutenant with the sheriff's office on Wednesday, police said.
๐ก๐ข๐ง๐: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ง๐๐ฒ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฑ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐, ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐,...
Posted by Hall County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Alligators are not naturally found in north Georgia, with the state's Wildlife Resources Division noting that ones in the area "have probably been relocated there by humans." It's not clear how this alligator entered the area. The sheriff's office said that it is encouraging citizens to take precautions around the area where the alligator was seen, including the pond and a nearby stream. Warning signs will also be installed in the area, police said.
Alligator attacks on humans in Georgia are rare, with only nine such reported incidents from 1980 to July 2023, according to the Wildlife Resources Division. Just one of those attacks was fatal. Six incidents occured when a human stepped on or made contact with a submerged alligator. The remaining three attacks were "a result of the alligator possibly mistaking the human for prey," the agency said.
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Kerry Breen is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
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