Dead alligator washes up on Hilton Head Island beach

HILTON HEAD, S.C. (WSAV)—A dead alligator washed up onto the sand in front of beachgoers on Hilton Head Island on Monday.

A beachgoer said that he estimated the alligator to be around 7 feet long. They saw it about 100 yards out at first, until the tide drew it closer to shore.

A young man flipped the alligator over and pulled it onto the sand where a large crowd gathered to look at it, according to the beachgoer. He also said that a beach patrol worker informed him that they will bury the dead alligator somewhere in the dunes.

Alligators have been seen in the waters along the southeast coast before due to freshwater channels nearby, but it’s not common to see them and even more so when they’re dead in the water.

“While alligators can tolerate salt water for a few hours or even days, they are primarily freshwater animals, living in swampy areas, rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds,” the NOAA says on their website.

WSAV has reached out to Shore Beach Service for more information regarding the state of the alligator and what could’ve caused its death.