To be fair, I didn’t realize there were so many here either until I moved to this region. They are even finding them much farther north of where we are. Almost every neighborhood up here has a “water feature” if they don’t have a natural lake or pond, they make one. And they also have signs saying to stay out of the water and to contact the game warden if you see an alligator. We see them often and there is a story at least once a month (of not more often) of police officers having to catch a gator in someone’s driveway or back yard.
Why would they be in Texas?
Dangerous man-eating reptiles are not my favorite creatures-I’ll gladly live here with no “water features”, a colder winter, drier climate, etc-I’d much, much rather back out of a hiking trail if I see mountain lion or feral hog tracks than be watching out for a hungry, 8-9 ft. reptile to emerge from the river...
I would love to go stay at Caddo Lake for a vaca, though-my 1st husband and I used to go there every year-what a beautiful place...
Alligators have been in East Texas as long as I can remember-Texas’ eastern area has the same climate as Louisiana, where there are alligators all over the place. They are highly adaptable, too, having been around for a few million years, a colder climate is probably no big deal to them, as long as they can winter in a sheltered place-it would probably take another ice age to bother them.