HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — That was definitely a close call.
A man fishing at a pond in South Carolina on Tuesday had to make a hasty retreat when an alligator charged out of the water toward him, WJCL-TV reported.
The incident occurred in the Shipyard Plantation area of Hilton Head Island and was captured on cellphone video by Micah Kimberlin, according to the television station.
Caught on Camera: Video captures Hilton Head Island alligator charging toward fisherman https://t.co/oMGyLE4Ba2
— WJCL News (@WJCLNews) June 24, 2023
“It was about Tuesday night around 7 o’clock. My wife and three kids decided to go for a bike ride,” Kimberlin told WJCL. “We came across a couple (of) people standing (near a pond) and then we see an alligator.
“This gentleman is fishing kind of far away and it’s headed directly towards him. That’s when I started filming this alligator heading toward him.”
Kimberlin’s video shows a man holding a fishing pole near the pond, WCSC-TV reported. As the man walks away with his back to the water, the reptile charges out of the pond. The man got out of the way in a hurry and kept a safe distance, according to the television station.
There were no injuries, WJCL reported. The alligator slipped back into the water after the incident, according to the television station.
“My opinion is it was probably an alligator that has been fed,” Morgan Hart, alligator project coordinator for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. “It has learned that people fishing there have given it food in the past. It is very hard to unteach an alligator that people mean food.”
Hart urges caution to fishermen since alligators could be lurking in the water.
“If you’re seeing alligators, they’re approaching you, they’re interested in your bait, your line, your bobber, you should pull all that gear out, step away, give them time to move on,” Hart told WJCL.
