Posted on 06/23/2009 6:27:22 PM PDT by Right2BareArms
Texas wildlife officials say there are six alligators living in the Rio Grande, east of Fort Hancock in Hudspeth County. "There were approximately six alligators that were observed, three of them that were in the 2- to 4-foot range, and about three of them in the 5- to 6-foot range," Texas Game Warden Ray Spears told KFOX-TV, El Paso, Texas.
Spears said the alligators are in a rural area, so they don't pose much danger to humans. He said it is believed they were dropped off in the area by someone who was previously keeping them.
The warden said his office will be monitoring the alligators to keep people safe and to see if the animals reproduce in the river.
About time.
Seriously? Well, an individual specimen might actually be able to survive, assuming the water doesn't get to cold. But, I'll bet that the Rio Grande's ecology doesn't lend itself to spawning Piranhas. So, any long-term introduction would be unlikely.
But, it's a good thought.
Fort Hancock is about 75 miles southeast of El Paso. That is not quite half way to LA, but it is an awfully long distance upriver from the coast.
It will be interesting to see whether they can survive. As one poster said, some stretches of the Rio Grande are nearly dry for much of the year. I am not acquainted with that particular stretch of the river, so I do not know how much water is to be found there. For that matter, I am not sure how much water alligators need.
Steroids?
The Border Patrol needs to get pictures and run ads in the Mexican newspapers, to scare off the “wet backs”. Too bad they are not in the Tijuana river, the flowing sewer of Southwestern California.
There is no water in the river from Presidio to near the Fort Hancock area.
There's no way they could migrate from the coast. Thus, the gators had to have been introduced there.
Is there water in the river downstream of Fort Hancock? Enough perhaps to support alligators?
There's no way they could migrate from the coast. Thus, the gators had to have been introduced there.
That is what the game warden has concluded.
The game warden seemed to think that the alligators might be able to reproduce. Presumably that means they could survive in that stretch of river.
Maybe they just want to turn their lives around and become productive citicens. You have no right to that leg he ripped/rolled off mut*********.
Will Piranah fish slow Rio Grande swimmers? [Texas]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1584955/posts
It’s always a bad idea to introduce alien species to a habitat, so please do not put pirahna or any other non-native organism in the Rio Grande. The consequences could be devastating to the whole ecosystem, not just the illegals.
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