A small alligator made it behind the counter at a North Carolina bagel shop before the owner spotted it. The shop’s security cameras caught his sudden jump backward.
The visit happened at Bagel Dock Express in Southport on Oct. 29. The alligator was about 3 feet long, The Guardian reported.
Owner Jesse Driscoll had been busy installing a new oven when the alligator arrived. “But never in a million years did I think I’d see an alligator,” he told a local news outlet, as quoted by The Guardian.
Bagel Dock Express shared the footage with a joke about its unexpected guest. “Apparently, word of our fresh bagels has made its way into the swamp!” the business wrote.
Through the Back
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The clip follows the alligator across the parking lot and through the back door. Once inside, it walks through a storage room and into the kitchen, making its way toward the front of the shop.
Behind the counter, the alligator stops. Driscoll walks through the dining area toward the kitchen, then recoils when he sees what is waiting on the floor.
He points toward the alligator and calls for someone to come over. An older man joins him, and the two watch as it walks around behind the counter. The Guardian also describes someone picking up a chair to use as a shield.
A Safe Exit
Southport police and Animal Protective Services handled the removal. In a Facebook statement quoted by The Guardian, police credited their officers and APS Officer Ward with safely capturing and relocating the alligator.
The shop reported no injuries. Its caption called the alligator “one VERY unusual customer” and signed off with “Fresh bagels. Wild experiences.”
Alligators live along the North Carolina coast, according to GatorWise, a public education effort whose members represent state wildlife agencies. Its guidance tells people never to feed, harass, capture, or handle an alligator, and to keep fish and food scraps out of the water.