Unusual animal found wandering in Greenville heads to new home

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The Greenville Police Department found an animal not commonly found in the Upstate wandering around Greenville.

Thursday night, police said Officer Hamilton’s last call for the day was responding to reports of a baby alligator or crocodile on Palm Street.

The little guy was secured and passed off to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) for relocation. On Tuesday, October 18, DNR officials said he’s heading to their expert near the coast.

Alligator found in Greenville(Greg Lucas, Department of Natural Resources)

“Every day really is unpredictable in this profession,” the department said.

SCDNR says when an alligator is found in the Upstate, it’s because someone removed it from a coastal area, kept it as a pet, and then released it.

Owning a pet alligator is illegal in South Carolina.

“It’s a death sentence for an alligator to release it in an Upstate reservoir,” Greg Lucas with SCDNR said in April when a hoax photo of an alligator was circulating on social media. “That’s an irresponsible and cruel act. Alligators don’t do well in cold waters. Since alligators are not supposed to be here in the Upstate, it also frightens Upstate boaters or lake visitors when they see an alligator.”

Lucas said the alligator is a Dwarf Caiman that is around two feet long.

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