{"id":87,"date":"2026-05-12T20:37:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T20:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=87"},"modified":"2026-05-12T20:37:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T20:37:13","slug":"watch-as-400-pound-alligator-takes-on-4-north-carolina-officers-in-tug-of-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=87","title":{"rendered":"Watch as 400-pound alligator takes on 4 North Carolina officers in tug-of-war"},"content":{"rendered":"

A dangerous tug-of-war<\/a> played out Monday near the North Carolina coast, with a 400-pound alligator at one end of a rope and four Sunset Beach officers at the other end.<\/p>\n

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Four men were necessary, because aggressive alligators are prone to use a \u201cdeath roll\u201d<\/a> spinning maneuver to overwhelm challengers.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s just what the alligator did in this case, a police department video shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sunset Beach Police Department responded to a 911 call from a Sea Trail resident who reported that a \u201815-foot alligator\u2019 was nearly in the roadway,\u201d the department reported in a Facebook post.<\/p>\n

\u201cSergeant (Billy) Bopst arrived on scene and quickly recognized the size of the animal and that assistance was needed. Animal Control Officer (Bill) Arp and Captain (Brannon) Gray immediately responded, and a coordinated plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

The resulting brawl saw the alligator rapidly tumbling at the officers like a log rolling down hill.<\/p>\n

However, all that rolling eventually wore the alligator out, leaving it unable to keep up the fight, the video shows.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe alligator was safely secured and evaluated at the scene. It measured 10 feet 10 inches long … had a tail circumference of 32 inches, and was aged at approximately 25-30 years old,\u201d police reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cSunset Beach Police Department does not remove alligators simply for appearing in residential areas. However, when there is a potential risk to public safety, and to the safety of the animal itself, relocation may be necessary. This incident comes during peak alligator mating season (May through June), when males are more active and mobile.\u201d<\/p>\n

The alligator was taken to a nearby lake and released, officials said.<\/p>\n

The department\u2019s video had been viewed more than 45,000 times on Facebook as of May 12, and racked up hundreds of reactions and comments. Among the commenters were people who worried children might cross paths with the alligator.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe this is the same one that spent six hours in our yard last weekend. We didn\u2019t go out, but we watched from the window,\u201d Kerri Wilkinson Allen<\/a> posted on the police department\u2019s Facebook page.<\/p>\n

\u201cToo big to be roaming a neighborhood,\u201d Elizabeth Palmerton<\/a> wrote.<\/p>\n

Alligators are native to southeastern North Carolina, which is considered the northernmost range of the predators.<\/p>\n

Sunset Beach is near the South Carolina state line, about a 180-mile drive southeast from downtown Raleigh.<\/p>\n

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This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 2:46 PM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Video shows strange tug-of-war play near the North Carolina coast with a 400-pound alligator at one end of rope and 4 Sunset Beach police at the other end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":86,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nWatch as 400-pound alligator takes on 4 North Carolina officers in tug-of-war - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=87\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Watch as 400-pound alligator takes on 4 North Carolina officers in tug-of-war - 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