Louisiana Alligator Found on South Texas Beach
Texas authorities are trying to figure out how an alligator from Louisiana made its way to a south Texas beach.
The alligator, according to NOLA.com, had been tagged. Those tags told Texas authorities that the alligator was, in fact, a Louisiana native.
It is not extremely common to see alligators in saltwater, but it does happen, usually for a very short time (think hours, a few days at the most), so how this alligator made the 350+-mile journey has wildlife officials baffled.
According to the Facebook post from the Padre Island National Seashore, a sign that the gator was tagged is the notch cut from the top of its tail. Once the tag was inspected and its origin realized, the head-scratching began.
Could the alligator have been displaced by the recent rains? Could the alligator have been smuggled in intentionally? Could the alligator have hitched a ride, unbeknownst to its host, as a stowaway? (I am envisioning an alligator holding on to the back of an 18-wheeler like a bandit!)
Officials have admitted the gator into therapy to help it recover from its (what they assume to have been) long journey.
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