Neighbors can’t get rid of alligator in pond

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — An alligator living in a New Hanover County neighborhood has residents concerned, but the state says their new neighbor has a right to stay.

The gator at Plantation Landing did not show its face to us, but at least six people have seen it, including Tony Reynolds, who’s head of the Neighborhood Watch.

“There’s probably 150-200 kids that live in the neighborhood,” Reynolds said. “I see kids all the time at the pond with fishing poles or just gallivanting, playing around the ponds.”

Neighbors contacted the NC Wildlife Resources Commission to have the alligator removed, but the NCWRC won’t remove the gator from its natural habitat.

“If he’s not posing a danger, acting aggressive towards people, it’s our policy not to move them,” Todd Radabaugh of the NCWRC said. “The alligators have been here a long time.”

The Wildlife Resources Commission says alligators, which are on the federally threatened list, should be appreciated from a distance, and if you leave the gator alone, it’ll likely do the same. Also, it is against the law to feed an alligator.