A 12-foot long alligator was removed from a busy road after it blocked traffic and lunged at passing motorists in North Carolina.

Boiling Spring Lakes Fire Rescue, in a Facebook post Friday, said crews were called in around 1 a.m. Friday by the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office to help remove the alligator.

"This angry interloper was laying in the middle of the road and would lunge at passing motorists," the fire department said. "Deciding that a 12-foot dragon was a bit outside what they could handle solo, they requested our assistance."

When crews arrived at the scene, one officer first tried removing the alligator by shooing it away. However, that didn't work out, so the department decided to use water to move the animal.

"After a first attempt to walk this gentleman across the road failed, we turned to what we know best...we flowed some water," the fire department said. "With a gentle shower deployed to encourage a retreat, the gator finally decided he was done with civilization for the time being and finally moved on back into his more natural habitat."

Video footage from the incident shows the firefighters dousing the alligator with water using hoses, causing the animal to move away from the road.

Operation took roughly 30 minutes

Captain Bill Lathrop of the Boiling Spring Lakes Fire Rescue told USA TODAY that "it took roughly 30 minutes to deploy and execute the options of removing the gator." Once the gator was removed, crews stayed on scene to ensure that the animal didn't return, before opening the roadway. Lathrop said that the alligator wasn't seen on the roadway again after the incident.

The Brunswick County Sheriff's Office, a post on Facebook, thanked the Boiling Spring Lakes Fire Rescue "for coming out and helping get this big guy to safety."

"Getting him out of the road likely saved his life and the lives of those traveling along the dark roadway," the sheriff's office said.

American alligators occur naturally in North Carolina, according to North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, and can be found inhabiting bay lakes, rivers, creeks, marshes, swamps and ponds. The state is the "northern extent of the alligator's range and they generally become less common as you move from south to north along the NC coast," says the wildlife commission.

Boiling Springs is located close to the North Carolina coast, about 30 miles south of Wilmington.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.

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