Nuisance alligators on the rise in Florida
With April comes the start of alligator mating season, meaning more aggressive gators on the prowl, and that’s not sitting well with residents of the Sunshine State. Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Commission says over 7,000 nuisance alligators had to be killed or relocated last year, compared to 6,700 in 2017.
A huge alligator was hit by a car in Texas on Wednesday before he was safely moved from the street.
The 9-foot, 540-pound gator was first seen on a neighborhood road in Houston early Wednesday morning, according to ABC 13.
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Houston police called in alligator wrangler Timothy Deramus, who told ABC 13 the gator left the water during heavy rains on Tuesday night.
"They get out of the water when it is lightning,” he told the outlet. “They come up out of the water to get away from being electrocuted.”
According to the outlet, the gator came from the Horsepen Bayou and has obvious injury marks on its back.
The huge reptile reportedly fought hard against Deramus as he pulled it off the street. Even after the wrangler had taped its mouth, the gator resisted being put into the truck.
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A woman in the neighborhood who witnessed the alligator’s removal said the sound of the gator’s hiss was something she had “never heard” before.
The gator is expected to be alright despite being hit by the car. It will be taken to Anahuac, Texas -- known as the “Alligator Capital of Texas” -- to be treated for its injuries before it is taken to an alligator farm to spend the rest of its life.
Alligators and other animals are expected to be seen more often as rains continue and waterways increase, the Texas Gator Squad said, according to ABC 13.