Feisty gator ‘tore the damn door off’ after being rescued from storm, Texas group says

In the midst of a tropical storm, a Texas alligator capture crew says it received a 4 a.m. wake-up call from the county sheriff’s office.

“Gary, there’s a 10 ft. Alligator on I-10 near Major Dr.,” Gator Country animal rescue recounted a call from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

That live 10-foot interstate obstruction was blocking traffic from Major Drive all the way to College Street in Beaumont, about 85 miles east of Houston.

“I guess the alligator was trying to evacuate,” Gator Country posted to Facebook.

The capture crew managed to rescue the alligator and took it back to Gator Country Adventure Park, KHOU reported. The park is home to over 450 American Alligators, crocodiles and reptiles, many of which were obtained through “nuisance rescues, donations, other institutions or abandonment,” according to its website.

While at the park, the alligator got a bit feisty.

“He tore the damn door off,” Gator Country said in a 9 a.m. Tuesday update, about five hours after the capture.

The gator, now a namesake of the tropical storm, has been named Major Nicholas, according to KHOU.

Nicholas made landfall at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm, KRIV reported, and leaving almost half a million Houston-area customers without power.

This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Feisty gator ‘tore the damn door off’ after being rescued from storm, Texas group says."