An alligator wandered free on the grounds of a Huntington motel for some time early this morning (Monday).
The reptile appeared to break free from its enclosure in the parking lot before pacing around the grounds of the Budget Host Alexandria on Richmond Highway, according to scanner traffic. Fairfax County police officers responded to the incident at 12:10 a.m.
“Yeah, there is actually an alligator outside of the hotel,” a responding officer said.
What’s poppin’? A gator at your motel door, apparently. 🐊 pic.twitter.com/JJ1I8DFOSh
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) June 16, 2025
The officer judged the alligator to be about 6 feet in length, weighing between 300 and 400 pounds, police said. The alligator’s mouth was “taped up.”
Though the alligator was not a tenant at the motel, its owners were. They were transporting the alligator to a North Carolina zoo after keeping it as a pet in New York, the Fairfax County Police Department says.
Shortly after the incident was reported, members of the Animal Protection Police responded to the scene to assist the owners with putting the reptile back in the vehicle.
“Due to Virginia state code, which prohibits the possession of certain exotic animals not native to the Commonwealth, the alligator and its owner were safely escorted out of the county,” an FCPD spokesperson said.
Since the animal isn’t native to Virginia, there are no known alligators in the wild in Fairfax County, according to the police department.
