A 6-foot alligator was spotted casually strolling around a Virginia motel in the early morning hours Monday, June 16.
The reptile was seen aimlessly wandering around the exterior of a motel in Fairfax County.
The sight shocked cops who responded to the runaway reptile.
Frantic vacationers made a call to report the alligator sighting after it turned up outside their motel room door.
Fairfax County Police responded shortly after midnight and were blown away when they came face-to-face with the 6-foot reptile.
"Damn! That is an alligator! There is actually an alligator outside the hotel," a cop said in disbelief.
The officer's body camera captured the moment he stopped dead in his tracks after spotting the alligator before inching to the edge of the property.
The cop lingered a few feet away and tried to estimate how big the creature was, figuring that if he "lay down next to it," the gator would be roughly 6 feet long.
Other curious bystanders tried to take a peek as the officer eventually managed to lead the surprisingly cooperative reptile away from the motel.
"Uh, I would bring your dog inside - there's an alligator over here," he said.
"I know, I want to see it," the person insisted.
The out-of-place alligator had made a break from its owner while at a rest stop, according to cops. The owner was driving the scaly pet from New York to a zoo in North Carolina.
Even after reuniting the gator with its owner, Virginia law required that the unusual duo be led out of the county.
See a video of the alligator below.
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