Southport, North Carolina, has reported a record number of alligators needing relocation in the area.
North Carolina Town Reports Record Number of Alligator Relocations
A town in North Carolina reported its highest number of alligator sightings in a single week in June of this year.
Though it's unclear exactly how many alligators were found out and about in the community, a previous Facebook post from the Southport Police Department reported that they had responded to between seven and nine alligator calls in a single week in mid May, meaning the new record would have had to be at least 10.
Thankfully, the police have access to APS Officer Kate Marshall, who is trained to handle alligators, so all creatures were safely captured and relocated.
Officers attempt to catch a roaming gator.
"Did somebody say 'Alligators' 🐊," the Police Department wrote on Facebook June 6 alongside a bunch of photos of gators where they shouldn't be.. "Another record number of alligators relocated in Southport this week. Officers and our APS Officer Marshall have been busy again this week. The largest, a 6 footer. All gators safely captured and relocated. We have been in contact with NC Wildlife for their advice and recommendations on relocating. 🐊Thankful our very own APS Officer Kate Marshall has been certified with NC Wildlife to trap, tag, and release gators. Great job !"
An officer poses with a gator whose snout is taped up for safety reasons.
The gators were found in places like swimming pools and backyards, and even in a local gym.
The Police Department also shared individual posts after gator sightings. As part of one of these posts, they shared the following PSA: "Reminder to KEEP YOUR distance, keep PETS AWAY, call 9-1-1, and NEVER FEED alligators."
Officer Kate Marshall is trained to handle alligators.
Some of the photos showed officers including Officer Marshall taping up the gators' snouts to prevent biting, as well as handling them and placing them in special carrier boxes (these look eerily like the ones you'd use to bring your cat to the vet — and we're assuming it's an equally grueling task to get the animals into them).
A famous amphibian, the alligator likes to sneak into people's pools.
While gators are most often associated with Louisiana and Florida, they are also present in several other states throughout the U.S.
In 2025, North Carolina ranked ninth in the country for number of known alligators in the state, with one thousand — meaning the animals are still rare enough to be noteworthy.
By contrast, Louisiana counts a whopping 2 million and Florida 1.3 million of the reptiles. Oklahoma ranked 10th with just 100 alligators (or 100 too many if you skew squeamish).