A truly gargantuan alligator was just captured at Champion Lake in Texas this week and is being relocated to a new home (not killed). The gator measured over 13-feet-8.5-inches in length and weighed in at over 900 pounds. This is the largest alligator ever captured in the state of Texas by more than 5 inches, a new state record, and the gator is now aptly being named ‘Big Tex’.
Big Tex, the largest alligator in Texas state history, is being relocated to Gator Country. A zoo for alligators that’s already home to 450 other big ass gators.
The decision to capture and relocate 900+ pound Big Tex came after Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge Director Stuart Marcus concluded that this behemoth dinosaur no longer had any fear of human beings, and he wanted Big Tex out of his wildlife refuge before the gator’s aggressive behavior cost the life of a human being.
So Wildlife Refuge Director Stuart Marcus called in a licensed alligator hunter to have Big Tex relocated out of Champion Lake, Texas and into the Gator Country zoo where Big Tex will live out the rest of his days:
Gary Saurage and his crew from Gator Country, in Beaumont, TX, were called in to capture the huge gator from Champion Lake north of Wallisville and Interstate Ten in South Liberty County.
Saurage announced Thursday he would name it “Big Tex.”
The record breaking reptile, which measured 13 feet, eight inches long and more than 900 pounds, was brought back to Gator Country where it will be given a new home.
Saurage confirmed with Texas Parks and Wildlife that the gator is the largest ever caught in Texas.
“And they let me know by record they don’t see anything that’s even been within 5 inches of this as for as being caught live. And uh that makes me feel proud. I’ve been looking for this gator for a really long time. This is without a doubt the highlight of my career,” Saurage told 12News.
Can I just say that if my last name was one letter away from ‘sausage’ I’d just legally change it to Sausage, because why not? Gary Sausage is the PERFECT name for an alligator wrangling zoo operator from Texas, isn’t it?
Anyways, Big Tex will now be living out his days at the Gator Country alligator zoo in Texas and the public will be able to buy a ticket to go see him anytime. Big Tex will live a carefree life, no longer having to fend for meals in the wild, and all’s well that ends well…or something like that.
…For more on this new Texas state record alligator you can head over to 12newsNow and/or the Houston Chronicle…