South Carolina family awakens to 9-foot alligator on porch

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — An alligator stood in for the Easter Bunny and surprised a family Sunday morning when the reptile was found on their porch.

The 9-foot alligator ascended a 15-foot staircase, broke a screen and climbed through a doorway, rearranging furniture in its wake.

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"I knocked on the door, and sure enough it was a live gator," Steve Polston told WCBD.

A trapper from the Department of Natural Resources came to remove the gator.

The wildlife expert estimated the gator to be 60 years old. He said a fence that was recently installed likely blocked the gator from its usual migratory path to a breeding pond.

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