Trappers catch gator in local waterway
Residents rest easy after days of worry
(10/13/05 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - Residents of east Houston can rest easier now that a big alligator has been caught. Game wardens have been hunting that gator for a couple of days.
It's been the talk of the neighborhood around Greens Bayou for days. One resident even said he saw the gator sunbathing in the road. After several hours of gator-watching by everyone from police officers to passersby, professional trappers got their gator.
"When the light hits their eyes, it looks like the back of a vehicle -- real orange, real bright red," said professional trapper Doug Head, hired by the state of Texas. "You can pick 'em up a long way off like a reflector."
Long before the sun came up, the search was on.
Head explained, "Of course, there was a lot of activity there, a lot of personnel around, lot of people screaming and hollering, you know, on the scene. So he probably moved on. Hopefully he moved to Greens Bayou."
But the gator was not in Greens Bayou. Later in the morning, it was peering over the water in a nearby fresh water canal -- a concern for neighbors.
Resident Regina Hernandez said, "I'm kind of scared, because my little cousins, you know, they like to go inside the gate and stuff. They like to look at the water, and if something happens like this again, something bad could happen."
Eyewitness News was on the scene when trappers finally got the gator in their grasp. The 250-pound, 10 foot long gator is estimated to be about 60 years old. He didn't come without a fight.
"We have a special hook we made that only goes through the skin. It doesn't go real deep," Head explained. "When I saw a little swirl there, I knew it was him. So I threw it and caught him. Then we got him up and got a noose around his neck with another rope, pulled him up over the embankment."
Next they brought the gator out and put tape on his eyes to prevent shock. Now he's headed straight to the game warden. He will examine the gator and most likely have it moved to a remote location where it can make a new home. Trappers add there is a misconception that alligators are endangered. They say there are probably a lot more in the Houston area than most people realize
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=3528150
Residents rest easy after days of worry
(10/13/05 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - Residents of east Houston can rest easier now that a big alligator has been caught. Game wardens have been hunting that gator for a couple of days.
It's been the talk of the neighborhood around Greens Bayou for days. One resident even said he saw the gator sunbathing in the road. After several hours of gator-watching by everyone from police officers to passersby, professional trappers got their gator.
"When the light hits their eyes, it looks like the back of a vehicle -- real orange, real bright red," said professional trapper Doug Head, hired by the state of Texas. "You can pick 'em up a long way off like a reflector."
Long before the sun came up, the search was on.
Head explained, "Of course, there was a lot of activity there, a lot of personnel around, lot of people screaming and hollering, you know, on the scene. So he probably moved on. Hopefully he moved to Greens Bayou."
But the gator was not in Greens Bayou. Later in the morning, it was peering over the water in a nearby fresh water canal -- a concern for neighbors.
Resident Regina Hernandez said, "I'm kind of scared, because my little cousins, you know, they like to go inside the gate and stuff. They like to look at the water, and if something happens like this again, something bad could happen."
Eyewitness News was on the scene when trappers finally got the gator in their grasp. The 250-pound, 10 foot long gator is estimated to be about 60 years old. He didn't come without a fight.
"We have a special hook we made that only goes through the skin. It doesn't go real deep," Head explained. "When I saw a little swirl there, I knew it was him. So I threw it and caught him. Then we got him up and got a noose around his neck with another rope, pulled him up over the embankment."
Next they brought the gator out and put tape on his eyes to prevent shock. Now he's headed straight to the game warden. He will examine the gator and most likely have it moved to a remote location where it can make a new home. Trappers add there is a misconception that alligators are endangered. They say there are probably a lot more in the Houston area than most people realize
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=3528150
