Alligators - fresh water - how far from Houston? (Conroe: home, neighborhood)

[ShelbyGirl1]

Old thread, I see. My former name is up there.
It's getting that time a year again...Usually May/June is when we see them here in Taylor Lake. After that, they seem to go back to where ever they came from...or at least, not that visable
And yes, both Clear Lake and Taylor Lake are brackish...doesn't seem to matter.

[EasilyAmused]

They have them on the golf course in the Woodlands

[txstate]

Brazos Bend Park south of Sugar Land/Mo City has an alligator wildlife and viewing area.

[Mom2Feebs]

*old thread*

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

I used to live in Texas, now I live in Florida.

The reality here is that in some cases the alligator has more rights then a human being.

If an alligator breaks through your screened in porch because lets say you have a nice juicey Labrador out there and you shoot the alligator in order to defend your dog (private property under the law) and your home, if you have shot said alligator outside of hunting season and/or with no hunting license, you are in BIG trouble.

If you shot a human being breaking into your screened in porch, not a problem.

We were talking about this in one of my classes in college and I was staggered that this very situation had occurred and the woman got a ticket for hunting outside the season. I pointed out that this was a big change for me. In Texas someone would have shot the alligator, made chili out of the meat and some boots out of the skin and maybe a purse for their wife and gotten on with life.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

Ok, you must think I'm nuts, but this is an issue in Florida. With suburbs going further out and the prevalence of canals, small lakes, these toothy ba$tard$ are in fact there...and every once in a while, there are run-ins with humans. (There's a current thread under "Florida.")

Now, I've seen the map of the alligator population and it does extend to Texas. Also, Houston is called The Bayou City.

That being said, how far does one have to go from Houston metro before alligators in small bodies of fresh water become sort of a "given?" Or, in fresh water, such as creeks and lakes, are they removed and relocated as the population starts to encroach into the hinterlands?

You do not have to leave the city limits. I have seen gators in the bayou my entire life. That said, the Southeast Texas coast is more coastal prairie / woodland than wetland and will not support the enormous population of alligators that Florida will. The phonebook will not have pages of "alligator abatement" specialists.

[Texas Mack]

Just going for walks along the bayou from Eleanor Tinsley and on west, I come across a gator every now and then wadding in the water near the banks. It's not the norm but it does ahppen.

[J-R0d]

There are gators everywhere, but we have enough space that they aren't usually an issue. As an exmaple, one of the plants in Mt. Belvieu had a pump in its firewater pond lock up. They pulled the pump and found a 6-8ft alligator locked up in the impeller.

I live on the east side of town, and I know where there a few "alligator farms" with large populations of gators very close to human populations.

Chamber's county hold the Gator Fest every year for a reason.... I've been out on Old and Lost river (right off I-10 E) before and held up a spotlight at night and seen Red eyes reflecting back at me for as far as the eye could see...

[Weatherguy]

I used to see gators in the small bayou running across Willowbend Blvd just east of the Westbury area. That was in the 60s and early 70s.

[ohmanon]

Weatherguy I used to see gators in the small bayou running across Willowbend Blvd just east of the Westbury area. That was in the 60s and early 70s.

Have many memories of that bayou (willow creek) before the sides were concreted in. We used to dare my 80 yr. old fearless grandmother to *walk the pipe* with a bag of groceries - she performed flawlessly. I was only allowed to scoot across at age 3 and will never forget when I had made it a few feet, my older sister noticed a big old water moccasin sunning itself on the other end. She tried to make me stand up but I was too scared so she ended up throwing me off...landed in the mud. I'm so glad I didn't know about the 'gators.