One local said a man was abducted and murdered by a giant alligator while trimming grass around the pond that their homeowners' association had refused to cut Friday.
Daily Mail, citing the representatives of the Horry County Fire Department, said the Myrtle Beach Golf and Yacht Club event began with a water situation in a neighborhood pond.
The victim was pulled in by an 11-foot alligator while near the pond, according to Horry County police. They retrieved and took the man out of the water when they arrived at the scene.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and its alligator removal service immediately euthanized the alligator.
According to the authorities, neither the local inhabitants nor tourists are now in danger.
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South Carolina Alligator Attack
According to Mikayla Moskov, a spokeswoman for the Horry County Police, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNRenvironmental)'s services and criminal investigations divisions have opened an inquiry into the death of the community member, as Fox News reported.
Even though the Horry County Fire Rescue teams confirmed that the victim was grabbed by the enormous alligator before it pulled him into the water, the investigation is still ongoing.
However, no immediate information was given on the circumstances behind the gator attack.
Additionally, it was unclear if the man instigated the incident.
However, residents have allegedly been asking for traps to be set up for years. According to a homeowner who posted on Facebook, the event occurred because the condominium complex failed to cut the grass covering the retention ponds.
"The entire reason it happened is because the HOA refused to cut the grass around the pond anymore, [so] the homeowner went out there and took it upon himself to do it, and that's how it happened," Trea Donohoe wrote on a community Facebook group, per Daily Mail.
Nevertheless, CNN reported that the gator bit the individual close to the pond's edge, according to a Facebook post from the Horry County Police Department.
Growing Alligator Population
The coastal marshlands, one of the most important breeding locations, are home to an increasing number of American alligators, according to the SCDNR.
The population is a portion of an alligator dispersed throughout the Atlantic coast from the Florida Everglades to North Carolina.
Despite being cold-blooded creatures, American alligators are active all year round in South Carolina, according to the department.
It also emphasized that most of the nest building and egg-laying occurs in June.
US Alligator Attacks
The Florida Museum reports that Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama are next in order of the number of alligator attacks that have been documented.
When compared to fatalities, alligators have suffered the greatest injuries.
Alligator habitat loss and ecosystem disturbance are related events brought on by the growth of human settlements and encroachment into their natural habitats.
Alligator assaults are allegedly quite uncommon, according to wildlife specialists.
Nevertheless, such an encounter is still possible under certain conditions, such as any close contact or trigger that might encourage the animals to attack.
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