Residents in a subdivision west of Conroe recently noticed some feathers floating on their 25-acre private lake while most of the geese and ducks began to mysteriously disappear, along with two pet cats.
The Artesian Lake Estates Homeowners Association thinks a 5-foot alligator -- which recently moved into the lake and put homeowners' nerves on edge -- is responsible for the missing birds and cats, said Brenda Cook, the association's president.
"We stock that lake with fish and fowl, and it is eating everything we put in there, " said Cook.
She said residents are not only fearful for their pets but also their small children who want to fish and play in the water.
However, Texas Parks and Wildlife officials have refused the association's request to relocate the reptile, which Cook has nicknamed "Mr. Irritation." That's because it does not meet the qualification for being a "public nuisance," said Alan Biggerstaff, an area game warden.
"It's moved into a lake, not far from the San Jacinto River. This is its natural habitat," said Biggerstaff. "It's not in the street or in anybody's yard."
He also said the reptile is small, compared to a 13-foot-4-inch alligator that was removed from Lake Conroe after it began aggressively venturing into people's yards to attack dogs.
"We could remove that one, but it would not be long before another replaced it, " he added.
Greg Creacy, state wildlife biologist, said one key reason that complaints about alligators are increasing across the state is that their natural habitat is slowly being demolished and turned into housing developments.
"Yet we take each complaint seriously and check for human safety. If we think there is a danger, we remove them from the area," said Creacy.
Greg Creacy, state wildlife biologist, said he does not believe the alligator is posing any real threat to Artesian Lake Estates.
Much of the neighborhood residents' fear is based on one fisherman's encounter with the alligator, said both the biologist and game warden.
"The fisherman was fishing from a boat, and the alligator mistook his cork for food. The gator can't see that good and bobbed around it. But once he noticed it didn't have a scent, he went away," Biggerstaff said.
However, the fishermen alone in that aluminum boat believed the alligator was making an aggressive move, said Cook.
Cook said authorities gave the subdivision permission two years ago to have two small alligators in the lake trapped and moved to a refuge.
Meanwhile, Opal Zumwalt, 75, a retired grocery clerk, is convinced the alligator is responsible for the disappearance of her and her neighbor's cats.
"I had my cat, Jill, for 16 years. She would not run off. She liked to go to the lake and walk around the bulkhead, and then eight weeks ago she never came back," she said. "That alligator's out there, and we don't like it."
However, Creacy said nobody in Texas has ever been killed by an alligator, and the state does not have the resources to move all the alligators from the state's waterways.
"There are alligators all around us," said the game warden. "Camp Strake, the Boy Scout camp, has counted 20 of them swimming in their waterways and you can see boys swimming and water skiing out there."
While it is possible the alligator could have attacked the cats, Biggerstaff is doubtful that happened. "I can't see a cat sitting still long enough to be caught," he said.
Source:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2054865
The Artesian Lake Estates Homeowners Association thinks a 5-foot alligator -- which recently moved into the lake and put homeowners' nerves on edge -- is responsible for the missing birds and cats, said Brenda Cook, the association's president.
"We stock that lake with fish and fowl, and it is eating everything we put in there, " said Cook.
She said residents are not only fearful for their pets but also their small children who want to fish and play in the water.
However, Texas Parks and Wildlife officials have refused the association's request to relocate the reptile, which Cook has nicknamed "Mr. Irritation." That's because it does not meet the qualification for being a "public nuisance," said Alan Biggerstaff, an area game warden.
"It's moved into a lake, not far from the San Jacinto River. This is its natural habitat," said Biggerstaff. "It's not in the street or in anybody's yard."
He also said the reptile is small, compared to a 13-foot-4-inch alligator that was removed from Lake Conroe after it began aggressively venturing into people's yards to attack dogs.
"We could remove that one, but it would not be long before another replaced it, " he added.
Greg Creacy, state wildlife biologist, said one key reason that complaints about alligators are increasing across the state is that their natural habitat is slowly being demolished and turned into housing developments.
"Yet we take each complaint seriously and check for human safety. If we think there is a danger, we remove them from the area," said Creacy.
Greg Creacy, state wildlife biologist, said he does not believe the alligator is posing any real threat to Artesian Lake Estates.
Much of the neighborhood residents' fear is based on one fisherman's encounter with the alligator, said both the biologist and game warden.
"The fisherman was fishing from a boat, and the alligator mistook his cork for food. The gator can't see that good and bobbed around it. But once he noticed it didn't have a scent, he went away," Biggerstaff said.
However, the fishermen alone in that aluminum boat believed the alligator was making an aggressive move, said Cook.
Cook said authorities gave the subdivision permission two years ago to have two small alligators in the lake trapped and moved to a refuge.
Meanwhile, Opal Zumwalt, 75, a retired grocery clerk, is convinced the alligator is responsible for the disappearance of her and her neighbor's cats.
"I had my cat, Jill, for 16 years. She would not run off. She liked to go to the lake and walk around the bulkhead, and then eight weeks ago she never came back," she said. "That alligator's out there, and we don't like it."
However, Creacy said nobody in Texas has ever been killed by an alligator, and the state does not have the resources to move all the alligators from the state's waterways.
"There are alligators all around us," said the game warden. "Camp Strake, the Boy Scout camp, has counted 20 of them swimming in their waterways and you can see boys swimming and water skiing out there."
While it is possible the alligator could have attacked the cats, Biggerstaff is doubtful that happened. "I can't see a cat sitting still long enough to be caught," he said.
Source:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2054865