Thank you, next? You should just leave small gators alone, instead of calling DNR

Don’t panic, not every alligator you see is out to get you.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is asking the public to refrain from calling unless there is a large, adult alligator in your neighborhood.

As the weather warms up, alligators can be seen in rivers, lakes and man-made residential ponds. Small alligators, however, are not a serious threat to most humans, according to SCDNR biologist Morgan Hart.

Alligators under 5 feet long are considered to be small alligators, SCDNR said in a release. It can take a newborn alligator more than a decade to mature into an adult gator longer than 5 feet.

Just because the alligator is small, doesn’t mean you should mess with it or adopt it as a neighborhood pet like you might a stray cat. If you feel like it could be a dangerous gator, you can call local authorities or the neighborhood security staff who will have better knowledge of how to handle the reptile, SCDNR recommends.

It is also against the law and, of course, dangerous to feed alligators, SCDNR said.

Regardless of size, just leave the alligator alone in its habitat and keep your distance.

“While we definitely don’t want to discourage people from calling in any situation they feel could be dangerous, just be aware that smaller gators that are in their normal habitat do not typically pose a problem, so long as people keep a safe distance from them,” Hart said in the news release.

This story was originally published May 1, 2019 at 12:25 PM.