Hurricane Harvey, one of the strongest storms the US has seen in the past few years, left deluge and destruction in its wake. Along with the flooding and loss of life and property, the hurricane also caused displacement of alligators which are found in large numbers in Texas.
One Texan came back to his house after hurricane Harvey to find an unwelcome guest beneath his dining table – a nine-foot long alligator.
Brian Foster, whose house is near Lake Houston, had come back home to assess the damage caused by the hurricane. Foster was walking around the house when he walked through the dining room and spotted the reptile, he told CNN.
Foster and the demolition crew spent a few hours trying to lasso the alligator so that they could pull it out of the house. But it wasn’t until local law enforcement and Wildernex Wildlife Control arrived that they were able to subdue the gator by wrestling with it and ultimately taping its mouth shut.
The reptile was then sent away to a wildlife sanctuary.
See the video here:
Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Facebook page put up a post on August 29 about alligator safety. It said that during flood situations alligators tend to disperse into areas they do not generally go. While they are wary of people, the post advised civilians to keep a safe distance and not try to engage with the reptiles.
Gators and flooding advice via @txgatorsquad: Expect them to be displaced. Simply looking for higher ground. Leave alone until water recedes pic.twitter.com/nN1B5jvMyV
— FBCSO Texas (@FBCSO) August 24, 2017
Meanwhile, other Texans have also recorded seeing the large reptiles out of their habitat and in residential areas.
Arlene Gonzalez Kelsch for instance, recorded two alligators in her flooded backyard in Missouri city, Texas.
This video here, shows multiple instances where displaced alligators had found their way into public spaces, were captured and carted off to their natural habitat.