Gator living in storm drain wins fans in Texas town. ‘Time for a mascot change’

A Texas town has developed a soft spot for a hapless alligator that’s seemingly been trapped beneath their feet for over a month.

The alligator was first discovered Feb. 7, near the site of a road construction project in Weslaco, a spokesman with the state Department of Transportation told McClatchy News in an email. After a construction inspector saw the gator dwelling inside a storm drain, city animal control and a state game warden were contacted, and the decision was made to simply leave it alone.

“Eventually the determination was made by game officials to allow the gator to stay and find its way back to its natural habitat,” the TxDOT official said.

However, more than a month later the alligator is still in the storm drain, winning the hearts and minds of Weslaco residents.

A metal grate stands between it and its growing fan base. The gaps are big enough to catch a glimpse, or to drop bits of food, as some do, videos shared to Facebook show.

It’s not a little lizard. One video captures the alligator slamming its jaws open and shut on a hunk of meat, with bits of chicken and Cheetos littering the concrete around its large body.

Some didn’t approve of feeding the alligator, but most commenters didn’t seem to have a problem with it.

“We should go feed him and take care of our pet!” a comment said.

“Time for a mascot change. Weslaco gators,” said another.

One commenter noted that the alligator “looks better” from when they had last seen it.

Officials haven’t said if the gator is truly trapped in the storm drain, but the fact that it’s still hanging around suggests it may be. Weslaco residents seem to think so.

“People were trying to help get it out, but no one had the tools necessary,” the video’s poster told commenters.

The nearby South Padre Island Birding Nature and Alligator Sanctuary has volunteered to step in and save the gator, KRGV reported, but the metal grate covering the storm drain is welded in place and the rescuers would need permission to take it off.

“He obviously doesn’t belong there, he’s in some kind of trouble. It doesn’t appear like he has access to water, he clearly seems stuck,” Jake Reinbolt with the South Padre Island Birding Nature and Alligator Sanctuary told the outlet. “I’m confident that if we can remove the biggest obstacle, which right now appears to be this grate, if we can get that out of the way, I’m confident that our team can get this alligator out of there.”

That might not be necessary, as Weslaco animal control plans to attempt to remove the alligator on Wednesday, March 12, according to TxDOT.

Weslaco is a roughly 250-mile drive southeast from San Antonio.

This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 10:23 AM with the headline "Gator living in storm drain wins fans in Texas town. ‘Time for a mascot change’."