Possible Alligator Sighting Reported In Bartow County

CARTERSVILLE, GA — The Georgia Department Of Natural Resources is investigating a report that a resident stumbled upon an alligator over the weekend in Bartow County.

The agency said it was notified Sunday, Dec. 2 of the sighting on private property in the county, said spokesperson Melissa Cummings.

However, DNR staff members have been unable to independently confirm that an alligator is, in fact, wandering the area. As part of its own investigation, DNR law enforcement personnel will set up a camera in the area where the animal was seen to verify the claims. Until that happens, the state agency has no other plans in place, Cummings stated.

According to The Daily Tribune News, a local resident said he observed the gator in the water and on the banks of Pettit Creek near Cartersville. The gator, he said, looked to be about 11 feet in length.

There have been multiple alligator sightings around metro Atlanta the last few years. In 2016, two were seen in Forsyth County while another one was seen in Lake Lanier. A previous Patch report indicates another gator was captured in Gwinnett County in 2013.

The most famous case occurred in mid 2016 when an alligator sighting at Cochran Shoals in East Cobb forced the National Parks Service to close part of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. The gator was eventually captured and relocated to Florida.

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According to the DNR, there are between 200,000 and 250,000 alligators in Georgia. In the Peach State, they typically live along or below the fall line, which runs along the cities of Columbus, Macon and Augusta.

"There is no evidence that alligator populations reproduce north of the fall line and any found in these areas have probably been relocated there by humans," the agency added in its fact sheet.

Once born, the animals typically stay in the same area for a few years until the set out on their own paths.

You can read more about alligators in Georgia by visiting the Georgia DNR website.

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