Alligator in Lake Lewisville (Houston, Dallas: 2015, school, camping)

[BoxCar Willie]

From what I understand them gators is thinkin of movin North. They say them Dallas folk in the Trinity are tastey morsels.

BTW a few counties south of us I think it as last month a Dallas lawyer pulled out a 14 ft gator from Trinity.

[DaveG99]

Originally Posted by BoxCar Willie

From what I understand them gators is thinkin of movin North. They say them Dallas folk in the Trinity are tastey morsels.

BTW a few counties south of us I think it as last month a Dallas lawyer pulled out a 14 ft gator from Trinity.

It was 2 hours drive south closer to houston.

[Newbe10]

Originally Posted by Im Lost

I am moving to Little Elm in 2 weeks.... I was googling and I found an article on a dead 10 ft alligator tied up to a tree in Little Elm.

I understand that Alligators are just about everywhere in East and South Texas and they even occasionally are sighted up in the lakes of DFW area.
It is natural and quite frankly, they do not scare me.... they won't bother you if you don't bother them.

My question, how common are Alligator sightings in Lake Lewisville ? And are they typically in the North where that creek/river flows into the lake ? I know they are probably fairly rare, just curious how rare or do people see the little critters floating around at sunset everynight ?

Like everyone else has said on here, seeing them in DFW is VERY RARE. I' am very surprised that one was found in Lake Lewisville. However, there is one place in the Metroplex that is actually a home to a number of them. That would be the Fort Worth Nature Center. Sometimes the gators there end up in Lake Worth, but have apparently never attacked anyone and when they are found in the lake, the are captured, tagged and released back in the Nature Center.

I read an article not too long ago that stated that the DFW area used to be part of the natural habitat for American Alligators and the fact that the number of sightings of them in the outskirts of DFW has increased significantly in recent years maybe a sign of a comback for them in this area.

In fact, I first went to the Nature Center back in 2004, there was no mention whatsoever of alligators on the brochure/map that they gave you. Now if you go to the nature center, Alligators are listed as part of the wildlife that exist at the park. Also, you will see signs down by the marshy areas of the park warning you to be on the look out for them and not to swim in the water. I don't know how many actually live at the park, but I do know that they are there; I have seen many photos of them at the FNC.

You shouldn't worry about Lake Lewisville though. It's hard to imagine how one even got in that lake. Must have crawled all the way from the Nature Center in Fort Worth! lol.

[SVTRay]

This isn't nothing a Gator tag and a rifle can't fix anyhow.

[Swordfish]

I am glad you brought this up;


If I am not mistaken, I think two large Alligators have been either killed or captured in Lake Lewisville recently. Also, there have been numerous deaths and disappearances of more people in that lake compared to others around. This makes me wonder if Alligators, and not just booze, could be responsible for the disappearances and deaths of many people there.

[momof2dfw]

Yes, alligators are native to this area and they are in the area lakes. There have been several spotted in Lewisville Lake in recent years. I believe it was last year someone killed one there. We have also had one down at Tawakoni on our property about 50' from the water and the neighbor shot and killed it. There was one in Lake Ray Hubbard last year or the year before. They ARE out there. Don't be fooled that they are not nor let anyone tell you that they are not native to here. They are! There was also a story awhile back about gators being in a body of water behind a school in Dallas.

[DtX4415]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

There was also a story awhile back about gators being in a body of water behind a school in Dallas.

Yeah, that was Maceo in Highland Hills (Southeast Oak Cliff)

Nature ran amok at a high school here over summer vacation, bringing alligators, poisonous snakes and bobcats to campus grounds, school officials said Thursday.

Beavers apparently dammed a stream flowing near A. Maceo Smith High School, creating a 15-acre swamp that became home to two alligators that moved in while classes were out for the summer.

Dallas animal control supervisor Tim Hawkins said he has seen two alligators, about 4 to 6 feet long, in the swamp.
School principal Dwain Govan asked animal control to remove the alligators from school property, so they stay off of the football and softball fields.

Heavy rains over the summer caused the swamp to encroach on the fields.
The fences will be up before classes start at month's end. But those students who have returned early for extracurricular activities, such as band member Likiesha Edwards, found something more than the start of fall classes to worry about.
"I think it's very dangerous for football players and people like me in the band to go out there and practice," she said.

Wildlife Swamps Dallas School - Los Angeles Times

[DaveG99]

its too cold in the winter here for alligators.

[BoxCar Willie]

Originally Posted by DaveG99

its too cold in the winter here for alligators.

From Wikipedia

American alligators are less susceptible to cold than American Crocodiles. Unlike the American Crocodile, which would quickly succumb to the cold and drown in water of 45 °F (7.2 °C), an alligator can survive in such temperatures for some time without apparent discomfort.[13] It is thought that this adaptiveness is the reason why American alligators spread farther north than the American Crocodile.[13] In fact, the American alligator is found farther from the equator and is more equipped to deal with cooler conditions than any other crocodilian.


There goes THAT theory

[Im Lost]

Have been doing some reading, they are definitely up here as others have noted..... in fact, they are all the way up in SouthEastern Oklahoma and apparently even Southern Arkansas.

Although, the populations are much, much thicker the farther you go South. I read where a wildlife ranger said there was close to 1000 alligators in Lake Livingston down towards Houston.

I move into my home on Lewisville Lake in 2 weeks, I'll be keeping my eyes open out for them at nightfall..... probably never see one, but you never know.