{"id":562818,"date":"2026-04-03T20:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T20:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/562818\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T20:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T20:56:08","slug":"alligator-spotted-in-georgia-farm-pond-prompts-warning-wsb-tv-channel-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/562818\/","title":{"rendered":"Alligator spotted in Georgia farm pond prompts warning \u2013 WSB-TV Channel 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">LAMAR COUNTY, Ga.  \u2014 A reported alligator sighting in west Georgia is prompting safety reminders from officials as warmer weather brings increased wildlife activity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">[DOWNLOAD: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsbtv.com\/smart-tv\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">According to Lamar County Animal Services, the county\u2019s 911 center received a call about an alligator seen in a farm pond along Steele Road.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Wildlife officials say sightings like this are not unusual in Georgia, especially during the spring and summer months when alligators become more active. The reptiles are native to the state and are commonly found in lakes, ponds, and wetlands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is urging residents to follow its \u201cGatorWise\u201d guidance to coexist with the animals safely.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Officials stress that alligators are protected by law, making it illegal to kill, harass, capture, or relocate them without proper permits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Residents are also reminded:<\/p>\n<p>Never feed alligators, as it can make them less fearful of humansKeep children and pets away from the water\u2019s edgeAvoid approaching or attempting to handle the animal<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Authorities say if an alligator is not posing an immediate threat, the best course of action is to keep your distance and allow it to move away on its own.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">However, if the animal appears aggressive, injured, or poses a direct danger, residents should contact local authorities. For non-emergency situations, officials recommend contacting a licensed wildlife removal professional.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Lamar County Animal Services says public safety remains the top priority when responding to wildlife calls and encourages residents to stay alert while enjoying the outdoors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">TRENDING STORIES:<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">[SIGN UP: <a href=\"https:\/\/membercenter.wsbtv.com\/newsletters\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph body-copyright\">\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAMAR COUNTY, Ga. \u2014 A reported alligator sighting in west Georgia is prompting safety reminders from officials as&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":562819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[6619,249241,249242,2808,30971,249243,7221,45718,39887,21980,79,282,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-562818","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-alligator","9":"tag-alligator-mississippiensis","10":"tag-american-alligator","11":"tag-florida","12":"tag-gator","13":"tag-hillsborough-river","14":"tag-nature","15":"tag-predator","16":"tag-reptile","17":"tag-river","18":"tag-science","19":"tag-water","20":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=562818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/562819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=562818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}