Massive Myrtle Beach area alligator is featured on national TV news. See video
A local photographer had his video of a giant alligator slowly walking in a state park make ABC News on Wednesday afternoon.
Less than 24 hours after ABC had posted the video, it had received over 4,000 reactions on the national news channel’s Facebook page.
The original video came from local photographer Austin Bond. In a post on his Facebook page, Bond wrote that the alligator was crossing a sidewalk at Huntington Beach State Park on Tuesday evening.
Bond said over the phone on Thursday that he and his son saw the alligator in the state park while on a bike ride together.
He remembers approaching what’s known as “alligator alley” in the park and seeing the alligator captured in the video laying on the side.
“It’s always so special to see them,” he said of the encounter. “I feel like I’m watching a dinosaur whenever I see them cross like that.”
Bond said he’s originally from Conway, but started posting pictures of local wildlife and nature scenes on social media after moving to Murrells Inlet.
After that, he said “it really just kind of blew up.”
In this instance, Bond said he first learned that ABC News had reposted his video when he was scrolling through Instagram.
“It’s so exciting when a global news organization picks it up and runs with this,” he said.
According to the South Carolina State Parks website, alligators thrive in the ponds at Huntington Beach State Park.
In June, another alligator was spotted slowly walking on the beach at the state park, previous Sun News reporting said. In total, the park is home to more than 100 alligators.
