Texas officials wrangle with 12-foot gator after jogger spots it in drainage ditch

A Port Aransas official said the process -- from capture to release -- took roughly an hour. (iStock)

Officials in Port Aransas, Texas, had their hands full Monday after a jogger spotted a 12-foot alligator in a drainage ditch.

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The jogger, who has not yet been identified, reportedly saw the gator behind a local Dollar General store. At least four game wardens and officials with the Port Aransas Police Department and fire department, among others, were called to the scene to remove the gator, KRISTV-News reported.

The capture was filmed by local resident Jamie Gautreaux, who posted the footage to Facebook. As of Tuesday afternoon, her post had more than 15,000 views.

After struggling with the gator — Port Aransas Police Chief Scott Burroughs told the news station the creature was “frightened “ at first — officials eventually taped its mouth shut before it was transported to nearby wetlands at the Port Aransas Nature Preserve, the Corpus Christi Caller Times reported. The nature preserve said on Facebook the gator was taken to a pond near the Birding Center.

Scott Taylor, superintendent at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, told the newspaper the process — from the time the gator was captured and then released to the wetlands — took roughly an hour. One of the most time-consuming aspects of the event, he said, was “trying to decide what our approach was going to be.”

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"With cooperation from Port Aransas officials and bystanders willing to help, we managed to capture and relocate the alligator unharmed. And nobody got hurt. I'd call that a success,” he added.