Large gator attempts to cross 441

A relatively large gator, roughly 10 feet long, decided to tempt fate and cross US 441 traffic last Saturday afternoon outside of McIntyre.

Calls quickly came in to 911 dispatchers, and the McIntyre Police Department blocked the southbound lanes of 441 and re-routed traffic. A call was placed to the Department of Natural Resources, and a DNR wildlife specialist suggested using a fire department water hose to remove the gator from the roadway. The DNR is not equipped to capture large gators, and the agency relies on roughly a dozen licensed trappers around Georgia. The nearest trapper was in Dublin, but he was not available to respond.

A hose then was turned on the gator, who began backpedalling away from the road, clearly not happy. The gator ultimately turned around, walked underneath the guardrail and into the woods.

“A (fire department water) hose does no damage to the gator. A gator’s scales are incredibly thick,” said Bobby Bond, a wildlife biologist with the DNR.

Bond suggested that the recent drought may have been the gator’s impetus for attempting to cross a four-lane federal highway.

“With the low amount of rain we’ve experienced this summer, it could have been in a spot that has mostly dried up and maybe looking for a new area,” Bond told the Times Journal Post. “Alligators are common south of the Fall Line where Wilkinson County exists. Many are in the rivers and ponds across the county.”

The gator did not use a crosswalk. Nor was it wearing a helmet. Despite its recklessness, the gator escaped the entire ordeal without injury.