Large alligator captured off Tybee

Beaches closed for a time Friday afternoon

An alligator is shown on the shore of a pond at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge. A large alligator was spotted in the Atlantic Ocean off of Tybee Island Friday. The animal was caught by experts and relocated to the Savannah River. - photo by EDDIE LEDBETTER/staff

W alligator — An alligator is shown on the shore of a pond at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge. A large alligator was spotted in the Atlantic Ocean off of Tybee Island Friday. The animal was caught by experts and relocated to the Savannah River. - photo by EDDIE LEDBETTER/staff

ATLANTA — Authorities have reopened beaches along the Georgia coast after a large alligator spotted in the Atlantic Ocean was captured at a popular tourist spot near Savannah. The gator, estimated to be 8 to 10 feet long, was caught about 2:30 p.m. Friday and relocated to the Savannah River, Tybee Island Fire Chief Ashely Fields said. Lifeguards on personal watercrafts ran patterns around the gator, pushing him toward the shore, before he was eventually reeled in as about 100 onlookers cheered, Fields said.

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