South Carolina

Second orange alligator pops up in the Carolinas

CALABASH, N.C. — For the second time this month, a rust-colored alligator has turned up in the Carolinas.

The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reports Tuesday that some residents of a Calabash, North Carolina, neighborhood have named the pumpkin-colored alligator "Donny."

[READ MORE: Orange alligator found in South Carolina confuses residents]

Earlier this month, residents joked that an orange alligator that turned up in a pond near Charleston had used too much self-tanning lotion. Jay Butfiloski with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said the color may have come from where the animal spent the winter, perhaps in a rusty steel culvert pipe.

Experts say alligators shed their skin and will likely return to a normal shade soon.

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