An unexpected customer was chomping at the bit for a taste of some delicious southern-style chicken.
The staff at Popeyes on Leontyne Price Blvd. in Laurel enjoyed a surprise visitor on Monday when a three-foot-long alligator was discovered in the drive-thru lane.
When animal control officer Norman Rhodes arrived on the scene, the alligator had taken cover under a pile of pallets next to the restaurant’s dumpster. Rhodes used a catch pole that the department typically uses on dogs or cats to capture the animal and put it in the dog box on the back of his truck.
Rhoades and a game warden with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks captured the alligator and set it free outside the city limits.
Officials believe the alligator ended up at the restaurant due to recent heavy rains in the region.
