The snake struck at the four-wheeler Kathy Sikes’ grandchildren were riding on in her front yard on Parron Church Road Sunday afternoon.

Her husband ran to get the children out of harm’s way and their dad, Josh Sikes, grabbed a hoe to kill the snake. But he was stunned to see that the snake was actually a small alligator.

“We couldn’t tell that it was an alligator until it opened its mouth,” Kathy Sikes said. “It started runnng around in circles and snapping at everything. Josh got a rope and circled around with it until he could get the rope looped over its mouth. We got some electrical tape and Josh taped up the alligator’s mouth but it put up a good fight.”

Josh Sikes put the alligator in the back of his truck and tied it to the body of the truck.

“We called the game warden but we were afraid that it might get loose before he got there that’s why we tied it. It was only about three feet long but it was strong.”

Sikes said she has been living in the Pocosin area for about 30 years and that was the first time that she had seen an alligator.

“There are a couple of creeks in the area and I guess it came from there,” she said. “What worries me is that it’s got a mama and a daddy somewhere close by.”

Sikes said the game warden took the alligator and said it would be released.

“I don’t know where they release alligators but I hope it’s not anywhere close around,” she said, with a smile.