A viral video of a police officer grappling with an alligator in a South Carolina neighborhood has drawn major attention online.
But for residents of the Park West community, the startling scene is less of a one-time spectacle and more of a sign of what they say has become increasingly common: more gators showing up near homes, sidewalks, and yards as warmer weather and mating season bring them out into the open.
According to WCIV, the clip captures officers trying to restrain a large alligator before they secure it in a Mount Pleasant neighborhood. WCIV said the footage quickly amassed hundreds of thousands of views online and prompted fresh debate over what neighborhoods should do when wild animals turn up in residential spaces.
For people who live nearby, though, the sighting was not exactly unusual…