Police relocate alligator after it turns up outside South Carolina school

SOUTH CAROLINA (CNN) - An apparently studious alligator had to be relocated after it was found wandering around an elementary school in Charleston, South Carolina.

Concerned passersby called police after observing the alligator on Tuesday, according to Charleston's Animal Control Supervisor, Courtney Bayles.

The 6-foot reptile was spotted walking in roadways and through residents' yards before making its way to the elementary school.

"Our concern always when we respond to an alligator call is what public safety threats are there?" Bayles told CNN.

"We don't want any harm to come to the alligator, we don't want any harm to come to people."

Bayles noted that when possible, officers will guide alligators to the nearest pond.

But in this case, there was no pond immediately nearby.

So her team captured the reptile, loaded it onto their truck and took it a pond further up the road.

A video posted to the City of Charleston Police Department's Facebook shows Bayles and another officer jumping onto the alligator's back and taping its mouth shut.

Bayles told CNN that these captures require careful maneuvering to make sure no one is injured.