Warden Drags Alligator behind Car - Wild Texas Forums: Parks, Travel & Recreation

Shannon · 05-08-2003, 02:56 PM

Quote:

From TPWD News on April 30, 2003:

Incident Prompts Review of Nuisance Alligator Procedures

HOUSTON, Texas -- On April 24, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game warden responded to a complaint about a nuisance alligator in the Shadow Bend subdivision in Fort Bend County. When he arrived, he found a nine-foot alligator lying in the middle of a residential street.

The game warden tried to clear a crowd of bystanders away, including several children who were not keeping a safe distance. The alligator had been injured (it was missing one eye), making it potentially more dangerous. The children were waiting for the school bus, which would soon stop right where the alligator was lying in the roadway.

The game warden determined that it was urgent to get the alligator out of the area for the safety of the people. He used a rope to lasso the alligator and attempted to pull it by hand, but it behaved aggressively. He then tied it to his truck and towed it away from the crowd at 2-3 miles per hour so that he could use his firearm safely to kill the alligator.

"We regret that this incident took place and we sympathize with the citizens who were upset by it," said Col. Jim Stinebaugh, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement director. "I believe our game warden in this case did what he thought was best at the time for the safety of the people there. I support our employees, who face a difficult job dealing with the increasing interaction between these wild animals and humans. However, we intend to look into this situation thoroughly and take appropriate action. Our agency is going to assemble a team of experts in the next few days to consider new recommendations on how to handle nuisance alligators."

"We want our game wardens to do what is effective yet humane," Stinebaugh emphasized. "It is not always possible to safely re-locate large alligators and sometimes the only alternative is to kill them. However, we do not want to see an episode like this repeated."

Stinebaugh said a nine-foot alligator like this one could not be safely captured and relocated in this circumstance. TPWD has two game wardens in Fort Bend County and they answer dozens of nuisance alligator calls each year, often with one person working alone.

A wild alligator has the potential to be extremely dangerous. They are accustomed to lying motionless for long periods, but they can move suddenly with surprising speed.

"We want to stress to people who live near alligator habitat that they not take these creatures lightly," Stinebaugh said. "Any alligator encounter is a potentially dangerous situation. Our counterparts in Florida and other states with alligator country are dealing with an increasing number of dangerous and even fatal encounters with alligators."

TPWD tries to relocate smaller alligators five feet in length or less, but this is becoming difficult because there are fewer places that will accept them. At one time, the American alligator was on the endangered species list, but it's population rebounded in recent decades and the animal was delisted. Today, alligators are by no means rare in Southeast Texas. Most zoos, preserves and ranches that want alligators have them.

Also, nuisance alligators have typically lost their natural fear of people. If someone has fed them or if they have found food near people, they may seek areas where people are and become aggressive. If captured and relocated, they may come near people again and become a problem somewhere else. All of this makes relocation difficult.

My response, which I've sent to TPWD via their public comment form:

I applaud TPWD's committment to look into this incident and better formalize humane and responsible procedures for protecting both humans and alligators alike. Just as it is inhumane and wrong to drag a dog/cat/rabbit/raccoon/other animal behind a car at any speed, it is also wrong to do that to an alligator... a creature that is beautiful and amazing in its proper habitat.

I'm appalled a game warden, presumably someone who respects wildlife as well as people, would do such a thing. I have seen school buses re-routed due to fire trucks responding to an alarm or trash cans (blown from a windy day) blocking a roadway.... dragging and shooting an alligator, a wounded one at that, makes me question if that warden should still be given that title.

05-08-2003, 07:45 PM

Would it be wrong to drag the alligator away on foot? 2-3 mph is a brisk walk and I'm sure his vehicle could go no slower.

"...a creature that is beautiful and amazing in its proper habitat." Agreed, but in that location it was a dangerous preditor.

There is no procedure in place to handle this type of situation. This means that the lone officer/warden on site has to "fly by seat of his pants" and come up with the best solution he can find. His number one concern must be the safety of the people. Think what we'd be saying now if that officer had not acted and one of those kiddos had been injured/killed.

We're talking here about a lone officer facing a very dangerous animal. It appears that the alligator as already injured making the situation worse. To top it off, you had kiddos in the area waiting for a school bus. Sure, you might re-route the bus. How do you re-route the kiddos? Trust me. It can be very difficult to get people (kids AND adults) to follow instruction, even when it's for their own good. I know. It's my job to get people to follow insructions.

Not having been there I can not say if the officer did or did not take the best route. I can say that, having had to make decisions under very difficult situations, you don't always get it right. From my point of view, no humans were hurt and the officer went home that night. That given, this may have not been a "great" day but it was a "good" day.

Just a thought from the Un-named Texan

Shannon · 05-08-2003, 09:52 PM

I'm sorry, but watching the the video (you can find it linked to from this news story) and hearing the first-hand accounts further reinforces my original comments.

Teachers on school campuses direct kids all the time. Do people sometimes disobey, of course...but I have a feeling when staring down a 9-foot alligator most kids AND adults would follow a simple "The bus will be stopping over THERE this morning, instead of here. You go down there and wait for it, while I deal with this alligator." Further, the alligator is not like a criminal with a gun -- the warden wasn't in imminent danger and had time to assess the situation and take appropriate action. Parking his truck in the street a safe distance between the gator and onlookers would have given him ample time to find a solution. If the warden felt under-prepared to deal with such a large gator, a call should have been put in to the local police department for backup in securing the premises (getting the kids & adults a safe distance away -- further reading of other stories shows the local PD did in fact respond and are the ones who called the warden to the scene) and TPWD and/or the city's animal control for another officer.

It was wrong to drag an animal behind a car. Period. Houston has its share of alligators (anyone anywhere near a golf course there knows that) and alligator wranglers. This did not have to happen this way. This new story indicates the 9-foot gator had already been hit by a car, causing the eye injury. It was no doubt angry and more dangerous than usual, but securing the scene is still easier than if the alligator had been an armed criminal standing in the road holding people at gunpoint. There was ample TIME TO THINK and TIME TO ACT properly.

I am glad no humans were hurt, yes. I'm not a PETA "animals are more important than people" person, but I don't support wrong-headed actions dealing with wildlife particularly when those actions come from someone presumably trained to handle such creatures.

PS: Reading more articles just makes this all the more frustrating. Can we please inform CLUELESS parents that letting your child ride up to a alligator and 'bump it on the nose' is not something you should permit your child to do? That underscores a whole other side to this story, namely that people somehow think wildlife is tame if it's within arm's reach. That kid's lucky he didn't become lunch, just like the kids I used to see held over the plexiglass wall at Sea World's orca stadium by their parents.

05-09-2003, 05:40 AM

Quote: "PS: Reading more articles just makes this all the more frustrating. Can we please inform CLUELESS parents that letting your child ride up to a alligator and 'bump it on the nose' is not something you should permit your child to do? That underscores a whole other side to this story, namely that people somehow think wildlife is tame if it's within arm's reach. That kid's lucky he didn't become lunch, just like the kids I used to see held over the plexiglass wall at Sea World's orca stadium by their parents."

We can agree here, at least. Unfortunatly, people can do the dumbest things!

The Un-Named Texan

Shannon · 08-12-2003, 10:20 AM

While perusing TPWD's website, I found a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document they drafted to help respond to questions about this incident. Good for a balanced view on the incident and actions the Department intends to/has taken in light of what occurred.

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