SAXAPAHAW — An alligator has made a home in Alamance County, and residents are crusading to protect it.

The gator was the legend of Lake Louise until resident Steve Meyers caught the animal on tape last month.

"To see him in his own natural habitat is just a chilling feeling," he said.

The recent publicity has sparked safety concerns from some residents, worried about their kids and pets. Meyers is now on a crusade to protect the public and the alligator.

"Stay away, leave him alone," he said. "Leave him in his own natural habitat."

No one knows for sure how the gator got into the pond, but most speculate that he swam in during Hurricane Fran. The 1996 storm flooded the Haw River, which is a few hundred yards from the pond.

A local kennel owner who has worked with exotic animals believes the reptile has been eating beavers, fish, birds and turtles.

The publicity may have cost the alligator its home in the small, rural lake. Citing the safety of the alligator and complaints from some residents, the state plans to move the animal.

Members of the Wildlife Resources Commission plan to set traps next week to catch the gator and move him to another location.