VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — In one Chic's Beach community, there’s a post on the app Nextdoor that's catching lots of attention. It shows a picture of an alligator in Lake Joyce near Chic's Beach.
It caught so much attention that the Virginia Beach Animal Control checked it out and learned that the alligator is actually a fake.
Why would someone do that? 13News Now got the answer from the alligator owner Mary Monine.
"We got the alligator because we have nutria in the area, and we thought it would help scare them away. And also we thought it was kind of funny,” said Monine.
It’s funny to the Monine because the fake plastic head has sat there for a year and a half now. She said she and her husband bought it off Amazon, and it's only now catching attention on Nextdoor.
"We were very surprised, maybe dumbfounded would be the best word,” said Monine when asked about how much traction the Nextdoor post received. "It's usually covered by Lilly pads, but in the winter I guess someone saw it."
Monine explained they have the sitting alligator head to help keep nutria away. She explained that those the rat-like creatures, with orange teeth, dig huge holes and eat their grass.
To the Monine's, those creatures are an issue.
Virginia Beach Animal Control spokeswoman Meghan Conti said the attention this artificial alligator is causing isn’t a problem.
"It happens every now and then, but once we identify where it is and that it's an artificial animal we're able to provide that information to citizens should they call in,” said Conti.
Conti said if this alligator were real, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, would take it away from the neighborhood.