A big reptile whose ancestors lived amongst dinosaurs thousands and thousands of years ago was recently photographed waiting for a preferred variety store to open in Louisiana.
In a post shared to Facebook, the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office shared a photograph of a giant alligator that was found waiting for a neighborhood Dollar General store to open within the predawn hours.
“This little fella was patiently waiting for the Dollar General to open this morning,” the sheriff’s department captioned the photo.
Photographed by Deputy Tony Palmisano outside the shop’s sliding glass doors, the alligator seemed to be nearly 6 feet in length.
Joking in regards to the encounter with the reptile, the sheriff’s office added a note for “inquiring minds” to the comment section that the alligator dashed off with Little Debbie cakes and headed for a neighborhood pond.
“For all you inquiring minds, Mr. Gator picked up his Little Debbie snacks, hopped in his truck and went fishing on the Civic Drive Fishing Pier in Port Sulphur,” they wrote. “He’s just #LivingTheDream.”
An array of other social media users also commented on the viral photo, with a close-by sheriff’s office referencing the dimensions of the alligator.
“What are y’all feeding them DTR,” the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office commented on the photo. “Not a widdle fella.”
“It’s in search of a snack,” one other user wrote of the alligator, which was relocated.
Plaquemines Parish – situated an hour south of Latest Orleans – is home to an abundance of alligators.
Louisiana’s population of untamed alligators, which were once considered an endangered species, has increased from fewer than 100,000 to greater than 2 million up to now 50 years, in accordance with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
Roughly 1 million alligators also survive farms in Louisiana.
The primary ancestors of alligators evolved an estimated 245 million years ago, in accordance with National Geographic.
