Alligator makes appearance during school's morning drop-off

May 10 (UPI) -- A South Carolina high school's morning drop-off faced some unexpected complications due to the arrival of an unenrolled pupil -- a 9-foot alligator.

May River High School in Bluffton posted a photo to Facebook showing the alligator lurking next to a fence outside the school Tuesday morning.

"There was police presence in our car line this morning due to an alligator in the road," the post said. "A local licensed alligator control agent with the SCDNR removed the gator from our campus."

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said the alligator was euthanized.

SCDNR spokesman David Lucas told the Hilton Head Island Packet that being put down "is the outcome in many -- if not most -- of these nuisance gator calls."

He said the gator's size and level of aggression are taken into account when officials decide to euthanize.

"That is one reason we work hard to drive home the message that people not feed or approach these animals and keep pets away from them," Lucas said. "If they get used to people or begin to view them as a food source, there is a strong likelihood that the gator will eventually end up having to be killed because of it."

"I'm not suggesting that was the case with this gator at the high school -- I have no idea -- but it is a frequent cause generally, particularly with gators in ponds where there's lots of human activity around," he said.