Beloved gator dies after he’s hit crossing road, Georgia cops say. ‘RIP Floyd’
A famously elusive alligator known as “Flat Creek Floyd” has died, Georgia police said.
The beloved gator was badly injured and had to be euthanized after he was hit crossing Highway 74 near a Publix Supermarket early Friday, according to the Peachtree City Police Department.
Officers said the crash happened at about 1:30 a.m. and the driver left the scene.
Authorities asked the public to donate to the Fayette County Animal Shelter in the reptile’s honor.
Floyd gained internet fame in 2022 after he was seen sunbathing near the Highway 74 bridge over Flat Creek in Peachtree City, earning him his name, McClatchy News reported. The scaly giant had been spotted off and on with sightings as far back as 2016, according to WSB-TV.
Local residents would flock to the area, prompting a warning from police to stop taking selfies with the alligator, WAGA reported.
Wildlife experts said such sightings, just south of Atlanta, are out of the ordinary for alligators.
“It’s definitely not common,” Kara Nitschke, an alligator biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division, told McClatchy News in 2022.
“Typically you don’t see alligators going much further north than the Fall Line ... so anything north of that is kind of out of the ordinary,” she said.
Georgia’s Fall Line stretches from Columbus through Macon and eastward toward Augusta, though Nitschke said gators will sometimes wander out of range in search for a mate.
News of Flat Creek Floyd’s death prompted an outpouring of tributes from residents.
“So very sad,” one person commented under the police department’s Facebook post. “Thank you for caring for him in his final moments. All God’s creatures deserve this respect.”
“So very sad to hear this. He was a legend!!!” wrote another.
“I’m heartbroken! RIP Floyd,” another said.
Peachtree City is about a 30-mile drive southwest from downtown Atlanta.