Too much self-tanning lotion? Orange gator puzzles residents

[TexasTowelie]

In a photo provided by Stephen Tatum, an orange alligator is seen near a pond in Hanahan, S.C. Photos show the 4- to 5-foot-long alligator on the banks of a retention pond at the Tanner Plantation neighborhood. Jay Butfiloski with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources says the color may come from where the animal spent the winter, perhaps in a rusty steel culvert pipe. Experts say the alligator will shed its skin and probably return to a normal shade soon.
Photo by Associated Press

HANAHAN, S.C.—No one seems to know why there's an orange alligator in a pond near Charleston.

Residents joke the gator used too much self-tanning lotion. Or maybe it's a fan of the Clemson Tigers, who are known for their orange colors.

Residents living near the pond in Hanahan say they've seen the orange or rust-colored alligator a number of times.

Photos show the 4- to 5-foot-long alligator on the banks of a retention pond at the Tanner Plantation neighborhood.

Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/national/story/2017/feb/10/too-much-self-tanning-lotion-orange-gator-puzzles-residents/660920/

[font color=330099]I provided the setup, you provide the punchline.[/font]

[OneBlueDotBama]

1. neighbors have nicknamed it: Trump-a-gator.

An orange-colored alligator dwells in the retention ponds at Tanner Plantation in Hanahan.

Neighbors says the gator is between 4-5 feet long and appears a rust-colored orange.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said one neighbor. “It looks like clay,” said a younger onlooker.

The South Carolina aquarium has an albino alligator. Herpetologist Josh Zalabak says albino gators are born that way, but the orange one in Hanahan is likely due to an environmental factor. “Algae – maybe some pollutant in the water, but it’s hard to say unless the water is tested,” said Zalabak.

Scientists say the alligator will shed its skin as they routinely do and likely return to a normal shade in a short while.

Until it does, neighbors have nicknamed it: “Trump-a-gator.”

http://counton2.com/2017/02/08/orange-alligator-spotted-in-hanahan/