When told about an alligator roaming a neighborhood, you might automatically picture it taking place in Florida. But that is far from the only state where these creatures love to wander. South Carolina also sees its fair share of alligators… except, normally, they don’t look quite this orange.
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Dan Krieger spotted one of these orange alligators in his very own neighborhood. Because he lives in an area with a number of ponds and small lakes, lots of creatures have made this place their home. And since Dan is a photographer, he’ll sometimes snap photos of them. This especially came in handy when these unusually orange gators came around! See them for yourself in the video below.
@abcnewslive South Carolina Photographer Dan Krieger spotted 9-foot alligators in an unusual color emerging from the water in his Little River neighborhood, according to The State newspaper. “Usually, an orange alligator is due to a mud that has clay in it, or sometimes it could be rust,” South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said.
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As soon as Dan spotted the orange alligator, he grabbed his camera and headed outside. Because it was so sunny, the gator was content to sit still, basking in the warmth. This gave the photographer just the time he needed to capture this awesome moment.
“I grabbed my camera and, fortunately, I didn’t have to get that close,” Dan shares. “I have a telephoto lens, and took a picture of Gary the gator.”
Have You Seen an Orange Alligator Before? This South Carolina Neighborhood is Home to a Number of Them
While it’s uncommon to spot an orange alligator like this one, it’s certainly not brand-new. While we can’t say for sure what caused this temporary change of color, there are a few possibilities. The first has to do with the way alligators hunker down for the winter. In doing so, they lay in mud holes, something that could lead to an orange hue.
“Usually, an orange alligator is due to a mud that has clay in it, or sometimes it could be rust,” South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Alligator project leader Morgan Hart explains. “But we’ve even seen them in pretty pristine wilderness where there wouldn’t necessarily be rust in the mud, so it can just be oxidized natural metals in the mud.”
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here!
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