BEAUMONT, Texas — The team at Gator Country has found more than a dozen alligators in the midst of the devastating Southeast Texas floods.
Early Friday morning, owner Gary Saurage responded to a call about a seven-foot alligator swimming in a Mauriceville resident's catfish pond.
Catching a gator can be tricky, but Saurage and his team are no amateurs.
"This alligator was so sneaky, we had to trick 'em!" Saurage said. "We put a piece of chicken up, the alligator ate the chicken, drug the jug into the water. Then we were able to follow the jug around."
Saurage says the gator was living miles away from its original home, nowhere near its natural habitat, taking up residence in the catfish pond.
"This one did actually take a few hours to catch but we got 'em," said Saurage.
Saurage and his team have been rescuing displaced gators for the past week following the devastating Southeast Texas floods.
"A lot of things move during that rain especially alligators. Since that rain, we've had 18 alligators," he said.
Saurage tells 12News that Texas Parks and Wildlife makes the call on which gators return to the wild and which ones get to join the Gator Country community.
"We let 50% go and we keep 50%," Saurage said.
The gator rescued Friday is one of over 385 gators Saurage and his team have saved this year. He says the hours will only get longer once the temperature really starts to rise.
"So what you're seeing right now is mating season," said Saurage. "The reason we let this alligator go in this pond is because it is over six foot. What that means is, that's a mature mating female. So she'll come in now and she'll get her a boyfriend and we'll go through the whole life cycle again!"
It's going to be a long summer for Southeast Texas' favorite gator savers!
Saurage says all good gators need a name and he may soon need the community's help to do so.