RICHMOND, Texas – Neighbors in the Harvest Green subdivision of Richmond had quite a surprise on Sunday afternoon when an alligator crossed the street, holding up traffic.
Video showed the giant gator crossing Harvest Home Drive around 1:45 p.m. on Sunday as cars slowed down to let it pass.
“It was huge and it was just like being slow, holding up the traffic, but yeah it seemed really big,” neighbor Zara Ahmed said.
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Her 6-year-old son said he wasn’t scared of the gator and didn’t try to pet it.
“I thought it was big and it would eat stuff in the water,” he said.
The neighborhood association told KPRC 2 News they get regular reports of gators in the neighborhood but none that have caused problems.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said non-nuisance alligators, as this one appeared to be, have no reason to be removed. The game warden for the area advised residents to keep their distance to avoid any problems.
Alligators are similar to bears and tend to hibernate in the winter, so sightings may start to die down until the spring.
Department
- Stay calm, don’t approach
- A gator hissing means you are too close
- Stay away from the edge of water
- Keep pets on a leash
- Report nuisance gators (if they are killing livestock or animals, or appear to be a threat to health and safety) to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department