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7-foot gator spotted catching some rays on Texas beach – take a look

Brent Franklin spotted the 6 to 7-foot gator and posted to Facebook (Facebook video screen grab)
Brent Franklin spotted the 6 to 7-foot gator and posted to Facebook (Facebook video screen grab) Brent Franklin (Facebook video screen grab)

People are flocking to beaches now that states are starting to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, but humans aren’t the only ones who are excited to catch some rays and take in a swim or two in the sea water.

A 6 to 7-foot alligator was spotted by two different beachgoers Monday on McFaddin Beach, just north of Galveston, Texas.

Posted by Brent Franklin on Saturday, May 16, 2020

Brent Franklin posted a video and photos of the seemingly calm reptile on Facebook, on Monday.

“Guess he’s trying to make sure no more happenings occur while at the beach!!” said one comment in the Facebook public group Bolivar Beachcombers.

Photographer Harvey Warren, of Beaumont, also spotted the same sharp tooth gator and snapped some photos and video, according to KHOU 11.

“(He) seemed to be kind of sunning himself, didn’t seem to be very aggressive,” Warren told KHOU. “I seemed to not have irritated him, I just seemed to be more of a distraction to him. I don’t think I’ve seen one just lounging on the shoreline so I thought that would be interesting.”

Alligator encounters are not common on Texas beaches; gators are freshwater animals.

But they can be dangerous., regardless of where they are encountered. On May 1, a 57-year-old South Carolina woman was killed after being dragged underwater by the animal after she tried to photograph and touch it.

TJ Macias
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
TJ Macías is a Real-Time national sports reporter for McClatchy based out of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Formerly, TJ covered the Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers beat for numerous media outlets including 24/7 Sports and Mavs Maven (Sports Illustrated). Twitter: @TayloredSiren
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