Instead, wildlife officials ended up trapping a 6-foot long American crocodile in the surf Thursday.
Steve Bennett of the Department of Natural Resources told The Post and Courier of Charleston that the crocodile likely escaped or was released by someone who illegally brought it from its normal habitat in southern Florida.
But Bennett says it is possible the crocodile could have swum up the coast.
Officials say they shut down the beach and ordered hundreds out of the water as a precaution until the crocodile was trapped.
No injuries were reported. Officials planned to send the creature to an alligator park, or to a wildlife preserve in south Florida.
