North Texas alligator encounters seem to be increasing. Is the population expanding?

While recent alligator sightings appear to be more common in North Texas, it does not mean there’s a population explosion underway, wildlife officials say.

“The reason we’ve seen an uptick of sightings isn’t so much an indication that the population is exponentially growing,” said Jonathan Warner, the alligator program leader with Texas Parks and Wildlife. “It’s just we have more people in the state now than we’ve ever had.”

Wildlife experts say the uptick in sightings is the result of people spending more time outdoors, development encroaching on habitats and protection efforts that have helped increase the state’s alligator population to 500,000.

At the same time, the alligators’ territory is expanding, according to Houston gator hunter Chris Stephens.

“Every time we build a neighborhood with a whole bunch of ponds, we add alligator habitat to the ecosystem,” Stephens said. “Alligators are naturally going to expand into habitat that’s there for them.”

The majority of gators Stephens has caught in the past 10 years have been in populated areas.

There are more gator sightings in developed areas because of man-made dams and waterways, which create a habitat and food source for alligators. If these dams and waterways connect to river systems known to have alligators, then there is a chance that the gators will end up in developed areas, he said.

Dallas-Fort Worth is on the northwestern edge of the natural distribution of the species in the state.

“They’ve always been there in low numbers,” Warner said. “The population is probably increasing slowly, but it is not exploding,” he said.

Gators do not pose a problem to people unless they are bothering them, feeding them or swimming at night, Stephens said. A mama alligator with her eggs can be more aggressive, but they normally lay their eggs away from people, he said.

Cliff Swofford, Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden captain, said alligators are active breeding and sunbathing during the spring and summer. He said alligator sightings this year are likely on par with previous years.

A large alligator roaming along an Interstate 35W access road in Denton County was seen earlier this month. Swofford said alligators can roam all over, but are usually shy when they encounter people.

Big gators farther south run smaller gators out, also leading to territory expansion, Stephens said.

“They have to go where there’s no alligators, and right now that’s moving up north in the river system to Dallas,” Stephens said.

Alligator protection efforts have a lot to do with growing population and territory expansion.

In the 1950s, alligators were considered an endangered species. But by 1987, the alligator was pronounced fully recovered, making it one of the first endangered species success stories, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Conservation efforts have helped restore habitats and stop illegal hunting and poaching. Alligator hunting season in Texas is managed to make sure the species is not over-harvested.

Because of protection efforts, populations are growing where alligators naturally occur in Texas. Warner said there are more alligators in Texas waters than there were 30 years ago.

Stephens said the responsible way to behave around alligators is to observe them from a distance and “leave them the hell alone.”

Nuisance alligators — ones that kill livestock or pets or a threat to humans, are removed by the Alligator Nuisance Control Program, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.

“We don’t expect people to stop seeing them anytime soon, but, as long as people don’t approach them, don’t try to harass them, don’t kill them, just use common sense, you know, enjoy the sighting of their native, Texas wildlife, and we hope they’ll continue to be so for a long time to come,” Warner said.

This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 5:25 AM.