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HILTON HEAD ISLAND (AP) -- A South Carolina man has been charged with trying to sell an alligator for $30.

The Island Packet of Hilton Head Island reported Thursday the 47-year-old man was offering for sale a 3-foot-long alligator he caught near his Bluffton apartment and kept in his bathtub for a day.

State Department of Natural Resources Sgt. Michael Paul Thomas said the man was charged Tuesday with unlawful possession and sale of an alligator, and possessing an alligator out of season. He faces fines of up to $2,500 each for the misdemeanors.

Thomas said officers observed the attempted sale. He said alligators' mating season will peak over the next few weeks.

The alligator was released Tuesday afternoon. The man was released from the Beaufort County jail following an overnight stay.

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