# New Harvey Threat -- Alligators from the Sanctuary escaping **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 29, 2017, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028 "2017-08-29T14:29:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/1 "2017-08-29T14:29:06Z")
Just when you think things can’t get worse: > [@](#): > > An alligator sanctuary in southeast Texas says it’s on high alert as rising floodwaters risk the escape of roughly 350 gators. > Workers at Gator Country in Beaumont have been busy patrolling the watery grounds of the 15-acre preserve as water from Hurricane Harvey’s rain inches closer to the top of fences that enclose the reptiles. As of Monday evening, none had gotten loose. > “We’re less than a foot from going over the fences. All of these are certified high fences, but look ― when it won’t quit, it won’t quit,” Gary Saurage, who founded the sanctuary in 2005, told local station KFDM during a tour on Monday. > Saurage assured neighbors that not all of the sanctuary’s animals risk escape. Well, THAT’S reassuring. > [@](#): > > “The good news is, we caught all of our crocodiles, all of our venomous snakes,” he said. “Everything that is not from here, we have put up and moved to a safe place.” > That includes two 13-foot alligators, Big Al and Big Tex. Those reptiles have been placed in trailers, where they will stay until the flooding subsides, Saurage said. Earlier, he posted an alert on Facebook requesting help moving the two gators. So it’s only 348 gators you have to worry about. And no crocs or venomous snakes. > [@](#): > > Anyone who sees a gator is urged to wait until the water recedes before going in the area. Sage advice. > **[Alligator Sanctuary On Alert As Floodwaters Threaten To Unleash Hundreds Of...](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gator-sanctuary-flooding_n_59a46b1be4b0446b3b859d6e)** > > Roughly 350 reptiles potentially could swim out of their enclosures if water keeps rising. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/2 "2017-08-29T14:32:16Z")
I’m starting to understand where SyFy channel gets it movie ideas… ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/3 "2017-08-29T15:09:58Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I’m starting to understand where SyFy channel gets it movie ideas… Don’t tell SyFy about the [rafts of fire ants](https://www.wired.com/story/why-those-floating-fire-ant-colonies-in-texas-are-such-bad-news/) floating around on top of the flood water, looking for a bit of dry land. On the bright side, they may be a fine counter to those escaped alligators. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/4 "2017-08-29T15:12:33Z")
On the bright side, our native alligators are much less aggressive than the imported crocs that they’ve contained. So they’ve gotten the worst threat taken care of. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/5 "2017-08-29T16:06:43Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Don’t tell SyFy about the [rafts of fire ants](https://www.wired.com/story/why-those-floating-fire-ant-colonies-in-texas-are-such-bad-news/) floating around on top of the flood water, looking for a bit of dry land. > > On the bright side, they may be a fine counter to those escaped alligators. Next on SyFy: they thought containing the crocodiles and venomous snakes was the right move…but they didn’t count on them BREEDING. Tune in tomorrow for **Ant-igator Vs. Snake-odile!** ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/6 "2017-08-29T16:53:39Z")
The gators deserve their freedom. I am much more afraid of floating fire ants than gators. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/7 "2017-08-30T17:15:31Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Don’t tell SyFy about the [rafts of fire ants](https://www.wired.com/story/why-those-floating-fire-ant-colonies-in-texas-are-such-bad-news/) floating around on top of the flood water, looking for a bit of dry land. 😕 That article explains why there are fire ant rafts in Texas now whereas there weren’t in the days of Katrina. I’m sure I remember reading about fire ant rafts during the Katrina floods too. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/8 "2017-08-30T17:25:01Z")
I’m so glad I live in Ontario, where we only have to worry about freezing to death for five months of the year… ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/9 "2017-08-30T17:27:09Z")
Freezing to death is actually not such a bad way to go. Especially if passed out drunk at the time. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/10 "2017-08-30T19:31:59Z")
As we can see here [American alligator - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_alligator#/media/File:Rangemapx.gif), the natural range of alligators includes far more of Texas than just the town of Beaumont. IOW, the 350 'gators in the sanctuary are just going to go out and join the thousands of other 'gators that already live in that county and each and every one of the adjoining counties. I do think that a lot of flooded suburban and semi-rural Texans will be surprised at all the “entertaining” wildlife that returns to their area while the people are waiting for the waters to recede and the ground to dry out. Gonna be fun. The price of alligator boots ought to plummet from the oversupply of skins. After, of course, they get the boot factories dried out and back in operation. Yee Haw! ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/11 "2017-08-30T20:42:31Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > 😕 That article explains why there are fire ant rafts in Texas now whereas there weren’t in the days of Katrina. > > I’m sure I remember reading about fire ant rafts during the Katrina floods too. [Yup.](http://www.gardening123.com/articles/display_article.asp?MS=6&ID=102783&) However, some of the articles I read after googling indicates that post-Katrina flooding was bad overall for fire ants, because the flooding persisted too long. Apparently, fire ant rafting behavior begins to break down after a week, and the ants drown. Katrina flooding lasted for multiple weeks and in some cases months. So, maybe a bright side? Houston may be getting de-anted? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/12 "2017-08-31T01:18:00Z")
My understanding is that crazy ants were beginning to displace fire ants in southern areas of Texas. Do they raft as well, or is this divine intervention in the fire ant/crazy ant war? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/13 "2017-08-31T01:39:23Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Next on SyFy: they thought containing the crocodiles and venomous snakes was the right move…but they didn’t count on them BREEDING. Tune in tomorrow for > > **Ant-igator Vs. Snake-odile!** give then a month and 50 bucks and it will be so… ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/14 "2017-08-31T02:40:55Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > As we can see here [American alligator - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_alligator#/media/File:Rangemapx.gif), the natural range of alligators includes far more of Texas than just the town of Beaumont. > > IOW, the 350 'gators in the sanctuary are just going to go out and join the thousands of other 'gators that already live in that county and each and every one of the adjoining counties. > I do think that a lot of flooded suburban and semi-rural Texans will be surprised at all the “entertaining” wildlife that returns to their area while the people are waiting for the waters to recede and the ground to dry out. Gonna be fun. Yeah, I wouldn’t worry too much about alligators in Texas. They are about the most chill crocodilians that you will ever meet. I used to have a small pet one one, I knew a man that had a fully grown one that could heel into his house and I have swam within close sight of them. [They are intimidated by housecats for goodness sake](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_29k6dJ6DA). If alligators were people, they would be the stoners that are just fun to have around but don’t do much. Crocodiles are assholes though. They will maim or kill you and I want nothing to do with them. They need to get some therapy from their alligator cousins. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/15 "2017-08-31T03:10:28Z")
> [@dzeiger](#): > > My understanding is that crazy ants were beginning to displace fire ants in southern areas of Texas. Do they raft as well, or is this divine intervention in the fire ant/crazy ant war? Crazy ants? Just HAD to google it. 98% survival rate against fire ant venom. Ignore most ant baits. Ignore most OTC pesticides. Multiple queens per colony. Something tells me the fire ants are gonna lose this war. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/16 "2017-08-31T07:50:59Z")
Just popping in to say ‘thank FUCK I live in Australia’. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/17 "2017-08-31T15:08:15Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Yeah, I wouldn’t worry too much about alligators in Texas. They are about the most chill crocodilians that you will ever meet. I misread that as “chili crocodilians” and found myself saying “yeah, I bet they’d be tasty in chili. Without beans, because Texas.” > [@kambuckta](#): > > Just popping in to say ‘thank FUCK I live in Australia’. > > 😉 “Texas: Making Australia look good since \!” ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harvey-threat-alligators-from-the-sanctuary-escaping/795028/18 "2017-08-31T15:19:43Z")
Alligators and fire ants are [small change](https://www.balloon-juice.com/2017/08/31/the-entire-southeastern-portion-of-texas-reimagined-as-a-superfund-site/). The Houston Ship Channel is one of the nation’s biggest chemical storage areas, and Texas doesn’t do regulation of this shit. Want to know what’s in all those tanks? Sorry, trade secret.