Fear no more, watergoers — Lake Lanier's rogue alligator has been apprehended.
The baby gator, estimated at no longer than three feet, raised eyebrows after being spotted several times since mid-July. Northeast Georgia's favorite manmade lake is not a natural habitat for the reptiles, and Department of Natural Resources officials have hypothesized that someone (illegally) had the gator as a pet and grew tired of it.
Wherever it came from, it was captured late Wednesday. DNR confirmed as much late Thursday morning, and Southeastern Reptile Rescue, which pulled the gator from the water, posted video proof on Facebook.
"The Georgia Department of Natural Resources provided us with a map of where the gator had been spotted," that organization's Jason Clark said in the video. "So once we got in the area, he was actually really easy to find."
DNR officials said the gator "did not pose a substantial public safety concern" but needed to be removed because it was "in unsuitable habitat well outside its normal range."
Clark said in his Facebook video that the alligator would be kept for educational purposes, but wildlife officials said later that it would be relocated to South Georgia.
"Initially, there was some concern the alligator may not have been releasable," DNR spokeswoman Melissa Cummings said. "However, after further consultation and investigation between Mr. Clark and DNR biologists, it was determined that this alligator is not human habituated, has no life-threatening injuries and is in good health.
Cummings previously told The Atlanta-Journal Constitution that Georgia is home to more than 250,000 gators, most of which live in appropriate habitats below the “fall line,” a boundary that runs roughly from Columbus to Macon to Augusta.
"This year has shown us that sometimes they appear in unusual locations, such as the Chattahoochee River or on Lake Lanier," Cummings said. "Relative to an increase of 'wild alligators' – we certainly want all of them to remain wild."
"I also imagine that there is more visibility to alligators this year due to the incident at Disney," Cummings added.
Between 1980 and May 2007, there have been only nine reported cases of alligator attacks on humans in Georgia, including one fatality in 2007, according to the Alligator Fact Sheet put out by DNR.
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