VIDALIA — Rising river levels may have caused two dark-green-skinned residents to move to Vidalia.

Vidalia resident David Weeks said he saw two alligators swimming near the Vidalia Riverfront last Tuesday. He also caught a glimpse of the gators on Wednesday, two weeks ago.

“The first time I saw them, one was 10-12 feet long,” Weeks said. “The other one was smaller, about four feet long. It looks like they might be living on the riverfront.”

Weeks said the alligators reside at the end of the Vidalia Riverfront, near Riverview RV Park.

“I saw them for the first time two weeks ago, near the put-in boat ramp,” he said.

He isn’t the only one.

Miss-Lou resident Denae Hula said she also saw the gators while walking on the Vidalia Riverfront in the morning.

“I saw the same two alligators about six times,” she said. “They were a few feet from me, just hanging out and swimming in the water. I was a little frightened by them, so I kept my distance.”

Hula said she posted pictures to Facebook immediately after spotting the alligators.

“I just took the pictures and walked away,” she said. “I didn’t want to have to try to run from an alligator. They’re pretty fast.”

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Inland Fisheries Director Mike Wood said alligators typically avoid humans, but it isn’t unusual to find them on the Mississippi River banks.

“If the water level rises, it is certainly possible for an alligator or two to come out onto land,” Wood said. “It actually happens fairly regularly when water levels get higher than normal. It happens on other bodies of water besides the Mississippi River.”

But Hula said the reptiles may have moved on after heavy rain. She hasn’t seen the gators in more than a week.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries estimates the alligator population to be more than 2 million animals.

Alligators in Mississippi are most prevalent in the southern two-thirds of the state.