A family got quite a scare when they spotted a 7-foot alligator near the North Carolina-Virginia state line.
Laurie Duncan says she was fishing with her husband and 13-year-old daughter, when they saw the big gator on a riverbank near the town of South Mills.
The creature was sunning itself, then slipped into the water.
Wildlife experts say milder winters are expanding the reptiles' range.
The experts note the gators usually aren't aggressive toward humans.
The exception being a mama gator protecting her little gators.
