A Monroe, Louisiana, family found a 9-foot alligator outside their front door on Tuesday morning, and wildlife professionals removed it without incident. Homeowner John Nix said his father came inside and told him to call 911 because there was an alligator in the yard, according to KNOE.
The morning had started ordinarily. Nix said he was getting his kids ready for soccer camp and cadet academy when his father delivered the news, which he did not believe at first. He went outside to look and found the animal near his front door.
Neighbors gathered nearby to watch as crews worked to capture the gator. Luckily, the removal went off without a struggle. And when it was all over, the family was left with a story Nix said they would not forget.
The encounter really isn’t as weird as it sounds, though, especially for the location. Alligators are most active and most likely to travel in the warm months, when breeding and territory drive them to move. A 9-foot animal is a mature adult, large enough that handling it is a job for trained removers rather than a homeowner.
How Louisiana Handles Nuisance Alligators
Louisiana actually has a plan for this very situation. The state has a formal system for alligators that turn up where they shouldn’t be. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries runs a nuisance alligator program and contracts with licensed hunters who remove animals that pose a threat to anyone or anything.
Under the program’s guidelines, alligators of a certain size found in residential and other developed areas are typically removed rather than relocated, because a large gator will often return to familiar territory if it is simply moved a short distance away. Relocating a big alligator also risks pushing it into another populated area or the range of a rival.
What to Do If an Alligator Shows Up at Your Home
The first rule is distance. Wildlife officials say never to approach, corner, or attempt to move an alligator, and never to feed one, since a fed alligator loses its wariness of people and becomes far more dangerous, which is illegal in Louisiana for that reason. Pets and small children should be brought inside and kept away from alligators in all circumstances, of course.
It’s not too hard to remember what you should do in a similar situation. Keep everyone back, keep the animal in sight from a safe distance if possible, and call the authorities to report it. Alligators are strong and fast over short distances on land, so a wide margin matters even when one appears sluggish. The number one thing to remember is that you should be careful and vigilant, so keep that in mind.