Steve “Deeks” more than geese in Lake Hartwell Gator sightings

By Mark Berryman, WLHR

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and now according to the owner of “Steve the Gator” there is no alligator in Lake Hartwell.

WNEG’s sister station WLHR, in Lavonia, called the Corps on Friday to verify the authenticity of an alligator sighting and the reply was definitely not.

A video which had gone viral since being posted last Thursday showed the top of an alligator’s head which was supposed to be lurking in the waters around Portman Marina in Anderson on Lake Hartwell.

The video was supposedly taken from Dock 3 at the marina.

The video received thousands of shares and views as did an up-close photo taken of the predatory reptile.

After posting the video, Andy Daniel decided to give it a closer look.

It was then he noticed something was off. When he poked it, he realized the alligator was a fake.

In reality, the decoy can look pretty convincing from a distance.

It was not Daniel’s intention to prank anyone with the video, nor did he anticipate the video going viral.

In the rain, he thought it was real and wanted to make others aware of what he thought was a safety risk.

A seven-foot gator was located in Lake Hartwell back in 2007, but gators are very rare for the reservoir.

The gator was owned by Michael Bell, who purchased the decoy to keep geese away from his boat.

Bell had even named the gator “Steve.”

According to Bell, there will be more “sightings” because he has ordered a replacement to stand watch over his boat.