HALL COUNTY, Ga. — A Hall County sheriff's deputy was out conducting a training exercise with K-9 teams on Tuesday morning when "he heard a hissing sound."
That hissing sound, according to the sheriff's office, was coming from an alligator, 7-9 feet long, "with its mouth open," charging at the deputy.
The sheriff's office said in a Facebook post that the episode occurred around 7:30 a.m. at a pond off Allen Creek Road.
The post said the deputy was thankfully able to "run up an embankment and evade the animal," and he was not injured.
"While the pond is located in an area not typically accessible to the public, HCSO is encouraging citizens to take precautions around the water in that area, including the stream that feeds the pond," the sheriff's office said. "As a result of this morning’s sighting, HCSO will be installing warning signs, cautioning the public about alligators, snakes and other wildlife that may pose a danger to the public."
The sheriff's office also posted video of the gator:
The sheriff's office said the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was notified of the incident.
Generally speaking, it's highly unusual for a gator sighting that far north. According to the Georgia Aquarium, roughly 200,000 American alligators live in Georgia but nearly all of them are south of the "fall line" that runs from roughly Columbus to Macon to Augusta.
"Any individuals north of this line were transported there by humans since the weather is too cold for natural reproduction in these areas," the Georgia Aquarium website notes.
Editor's Note: This article was updated to say the original sighting happened on Tuesday morning. The sheriff's office originally said it occurred on Wednesday. However, it has since been clarified that the photos and drone video were taken on Wednesday, a day after the deputy's incident.
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