An orange-colored alligator, nicknamed "Trumpgator" by locals, turned heads when it appeared in Hanahan, S.C. this week.
When a photo of the strange creature went viral on Facebook, some perplexed residents joked that it probably used a little too much self-tanner. This eye-catching alligator is around 4 to 5 feet long and could go on to grow another 10 feet or so if it's a male (females usually average just shy of 10 feet). The mysterious gator is currently hanging around the neighborhood of Tanner Plantations, earning it the nickname "Trumpgator of Self-Tanner Plantation."
Experts say that this brightly colored gator will soon be back to its usual self. They suspect that something in the gator's environment created the color. For example, the area where the gator is currently living has huge quantities of dark clay. More than likely, the gator is an albino that has rolled around in the clay a little too much.
Eventually, the color should disappear as it sheds its scales. In fact, some residents say that the color is already starting to fade after the gator spent some time sunning on the grass by the pond. But the residents of Hanahan still have some time to catch a glimpse of this strange orange gator before it returns to normal.
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Surprisingly, this isn't the first time an orange gator has shown up in this neck of the woods. A few years back, authorities received reports of a similar alligator in the area. At the time, they attributed the occurrence to the high iron levels in the pond.
