By Tony Kukulich
An incident of alligator harassment, which appeared to end with the animal getting thrown by the tail, is now under investigation by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR).
Photos and a link to a nearly four-minute video of the incident appeared in a post on the Fripp Island Golf & Beach Resort Facebook page Friday morning, July 8. In the post, Fripp Island Security asked for the public’s help identifying the people involved in the harassment.
“SCDNR is aware of the photos and video that appear to show a group of people harassing an alligator,” said SCDNR spokesperson Stephen Fastenau. “We are in touch with Fripp Island security and monitoring the situation for additional information. It is against state law to feed, harm, harass or molest alligators.”
The incident reportedly took place Tuesday, July 5 at 11:46 p.m. on Bonito Road near Ocean Creek Drive.
It is not clear who took the video that has since been widely circulated.
While the quality of the video is low, one man is initially seen apparently trying to grab the small alligator as others can be heard laughing off camera. The first man is soon joined by a second and a third as they surround the animal as it attempts to escape. Eventually, up to seven people are seen, and several appear to be filming the harassment with their phones.
The disturbing video culminates with one man grabbing the alligator by the tail and tossing it several feet. As the animal retreats toward a body of water, people in the crowd shout, “Atta boy, Will,” and “Way to go, Will.”
Though once listed as a federally endangered species, alligator populations have rebounded and its status has been upgraded to threatened. Populations of alligators in South Carolina have done so well, that the SCDNR instituted a hunting season in 2008. American alligators can live to be more than 60 years old and attain lengths greater than 13 feet.
Anyone with any information about the identities of the people in the video is asked to contact Fripp Island security at 843-838-2334.
Tony Kukulich is a recent transplant to the Lowcountry. A native of Wilmington, Del., he comes to The Island News from the San Francisco Bay Area where he spent seven years as a reporter and photographer for several publications. He can be reached at tony.theislandnews@gmail.com.
