A 6-foot alligator was spotted casually strolling around a Virginia motel in the early morning hours Monday, surprising cops who responded to the escaped reptile in a hilarious video.
The scaly beast was spotted aimlessly wandering around the exterior of a motel in Fairfax County, about 20 miles outside of Washington, DC.
Frantic vacationers called in the gator sighting after it turned up outside their motel room door. Fairfax County Police responded shortly after midnight and were taken aback when they came face to face with the 6-foot reptile.
“Damn! That’s an alligator! There is actually an alligator outside the hotel,” a cop said in disbelief.
The officer’s body camera captured the moment he stopped dead in his tracks after spotting the alligator before inching to the edge of the property.
The cop lingered a few feet away and tried to estimate how big the creature was, calculating that if he “lay down next to it,” the gator would be about 6 feet long.
Other curious bystanders tried to take a peek as the officer eventually managed to lead the surprisingly cooperative reptile away from the motel.
“Uh, I would bring your dog inside – there’s an alligator over here,” replied the man.
“I know, I want to see it,” the person insisted.
The out-of-place alligator had made a break from its owner while at a rest stop, according to cops. The owner was transporting the scaly pet from New York to a zoo in North Carolina.
Even after the gator was reunited with its owner, Virginia law required the unusual duo to be led out of the county.
According to Virginia Code, it is a misdemeanor for anyone who owns an exotic reptile to “keep the reptile in any manner that will allow its escape or to knowingly permit the reptile to run at large.”
According to the county website, Fairfax County also prohibits the use of exotic animals except in special circumstances, such as elephant riding.
The Old Dominion State has had a number of wild animal snafus recently.
In March, the Virginia Zoological Park had to dispel a rumor that one of its gorillas had escaped after residents mistook their mascot for a real primate.
Last year, a herd of escaped goats and sheep caused havoc by gallivanting across an interstate in Virginia.
