An alligator spotted on a busy highway in Texas, the United States, caused panic earlier this week — before it was revealed to be a plastic toy.

The Plano Animal Shelter said rescuers responded after receiving multiple calls reporting the reptile lurking in the westbound lanes of the George Bush Turnpike.

“When we responded, we found this little guy on the side of the road,” the sanctuary said in a Facebook post, sharing a photo of the realistic plastic alligator.

The faux-gator was subsequently brought back to the animal shelter by the rescuers, where it was adorned with a charming set of pink bunny ears, adding a touch of cuteness to the shelter’s Easter display.

“You never know what you’re going to see on your morning commute,” the City of Plano tweeted. “See ‘ya later, alligator? After a while, crocodile!”
Strange as the incident may be, it wasn’t the first time a plastic gator was mistaken for a real one in the US.

In May 2021, the Animal Rescue League of Iowa was called to an apartment in Des Moines after startled onlookers reported a “four to five-foot alligator” on the loose.

“Our Animal Services Officers respond to calls about wildlife every day, but a call yesterday was a little EXTRA wild — a 4-5-foot alligator!,” ARL said in a release detailing how the residents anxiously waited for reptile wranglers to remove the fearsome predator from their building.

“While their fear was real, the alligator, it turns out, was not,” ARL said, clarifying that it was just a life-size stuffed animal.