It wasn’t Florida this time. A 12-foot alligator turned a McDonald’s parking lot in Macon, Georgia, into its personal hangout, sparking chaos, selfies, and a dangerous showdown with law enforcement.
On Sept. 26, customers at the McDonald’s on Rocky Creek Road spotted the massive gator lurking near the drive-thru. Workers thought it might wander off, but by the next day the reptile was still there, sunning itself and drawing a crowd.
“I looked out the window and thought, ‘Oh no, that’s not a dog, that’s a gator,’” said employee Mandy Jackson. “It hung around for two days. Honestly, I think it was hungry.”
Before deputies arrived, some curious onlookers made a reckless attempt to subdue the beast. Armed with duct tape, they tried to clamp its powerful jaws shut while others pulled out their phones for selfies.
“It’s not just dangerous — it’s illegal,” said Captain Linda Howard of the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office. “We had people trying to tape its mouth and pose for pictures. That gator could’ve ripped someone apart in seconds.”
Video from CBS affiliate 13WMAZ shows the gator thrashing on the asphalt as deputies and wildlife officers wrestled it under control, tying its jaws with ropes before loading it up for relocation.
The alligator was safely transported to a private pond in Laurens County, far from french fries and foot traffic. No people or animals were hurt in the process.
Alligators are native to Georgia and can grow more than 12 feet long, though sightings in busy parking lots are rare. Experts say development and late-summer food shortages often drive the reptiles closer to people.
According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, feeding or harassing an alligator isn’t just dangerous — it’s against state law. “When people feed gators, they lose their natural fear of humans,” the department warns.
The Macon incident has already gone viral, but deputies say the spectacle shouldn’t overshadow the risks.
“This could have ended very differently,” Captain Howard said. “It’s not every day you see a gator at McDonald’s, but folks need to leave these animals alone.”
I wonder how they removed the sticky tape off. The gator looked like it was trying save itself from being abused by people.
At least they didn’t try to make McNuggets out of it……..Gator does NOT taste like chicken.
For the record, it tastes much more like rattlesnake, and fewer bones. And YES, I have eaten both, numerous times. Yum Yum Yum !
he crawled up from Florida, he wanted to get the bad taste out of his mouth from those Illegals.