Floods hit Houston these days due to the Hurricane Harvey, and one Texan got quite a surprise when he returned to his flooded home this Friday. As he entered his living room, he saw a 10-foot gator!
Brian Foster, the homeowner, discovered this while assessing just how badly his house was damaged. He said: ‘I walked through the house and was looking at demo-ing the house when I turned around and walked back through my dining room. I looked down, and there was a 10-foot alligator in my dining room!’
He then tried to get this animal out of his home for a few hours with the help of his demolition crew.
During that struggle, Wildernex Wildlife Control and local law enforcement came to help. The reptile was swiftly dealt with, and they managed to transport him to an animal sanctuary.
When asked how he felt when he spotted the unwanted visitor, Foster said that he doubted whether he really saw it was just his mind playing games on him. Constable Mark Herman of Harris County, Texas denoted that the owner was shocked. ‘He was so disconnected from the fact that there could be an alligator in his home that he had to think for a second to see if his wife had bought a fake alligator or not.’
9 foot #gator pulled from home in Humble. Be careful when returning to flooded homes. There may be unwanted visitors. @abc13houston pic.twitter.com/1X5ZGxz57w
— Chris Nocera (@13ProducerChris) September 1, 2017
Unfortunately, Foster is just one of many homeowners who returned to their properties only to find unwanted animal guests. Experts expanded on this matter by saying that they don’t exactly know how many alligators are in the area because of the whole situation.
Jarred Pollard, an expert that was involved in the Foster household situation claimed that they are swamped with calls. ‘We do know that there are large alligators in this area. Now that the weather is better, we are getting a lot of calls for animals that have been displaced, animals getting into people’s homes and attics.’
Another example of similar home intrusion is the one where Lily Thien of Missouri City recorded alligators casually resting in her backyard. Soon enough her video went viral. Thien and her daughter were safely recording the whole event behind a window, but surely that was a distressing sight to see for them.
Law enforcement and local officials claim that this is common because of the floods. Animals get displaced and find their way into the civilization. ‘Wildlife is either being displaced or caused to move around by Hurricane Harvey.’
Residents of Texas have been warned by Texas Parks & Wildlife authorities not to approach wildlife including alligators and snakes. ‘The alligators aren’t interested in people, they’re just looking to find a safe place to say.’ officials claimed. Officials also stated that they already posted a lot of information where they warned and advised people on how to behave should they encounter gators or snakes.
Texas troopers emphasized how they aren’t used to these situations. They had to relocate a 12-foot gator recently that was displaced by Harvey in southeast Houston. They said ‘This isn’t like Florida, where you find gators in your pool. It’s a rare event to happen upon an alligator here.
