The ILA board purchased a motion-sensitive game camera with night vision and placed it in the area where the potential sighting occurred. Over 800 photographs were reviewed by Pierce Johnston- none of them showed an alligator. In addition, we have spoken to two game wardens from Texas Parks and Wildlife (Chelsea Powell and William Hackney III); the game wardens do not remove alligators and tell us that alligators are typically scared of humans. If there were an alligator, more people would have seen it because it would be sunning on the banks mid-afternoon. Other possibilities that could have caused the splashing in the video are an otter, alligator gar, or spawning carp (many of which were helpfully suggested in the last Facebook post).
We also reached out to an alligator expert who specializes in removal. He says that we should not be overly concerned about it. Signs of an alligator include a muddy spot where the aquatic life is flattened and piles of feathers from killed birds. The most important thing is never to feed alligators so it does not associate humans with food; alligators naturally fear humans.
Hopefully, this helps alleviate many of the concerns! In summary, the likelihood of an alligator in the lake is EXTREMELY SMALL, and the video is most likely of something else.
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