‘Grumpy’ 9-foot alligator seen wandering near downtown Texas restaurant

GLADEWATER, Texas (KLTV/Gray News) - A game warden and police officers worked together to remove a large alligator spotted near a restaurant in downtown Gladewater, Texas.

With a lake in town and many antique stores, the City of Gladewater attracts a lot of visitors, but they could have done without the extra scaly 9-foot-long visitor.

Gregg County Game Warden Todd Long was notified around 10 p.m. that an alligator had been spotted near Tele’s restaurant on U.S. Highway 271.

“Right there on the side of the road, pinned against a wrought iron fence. He was all there. He was right at 9 1/2 foot,” Long said.

He said it was one of the biggest he’d handled.

“Probably the biggest one ever in a crowded situation. It was a concern. Not only because of the traffic, but there’s the neighborhood there, pedestrians at times. The saving grace was probably that it was that late at night. There was light traffic,” Long said.

Gladewater police and fire had blocked the road while Long wrangled the gator. It attracted a small crowd in the restaurant parking lot.

“Any time we have an alligator that’s posing a threat, public threat or nuisance, right there in someone’s front yard or in the highway, we’re going to come and relocate that alligator,” Long said.

But, it was obviously dangerous and had to be worn out.

“We finally got that grumpy alligator to roll out to the left, roll out to the right. Finally got it tired out, got his mouth taped,” Long said.

But, it was a struggle.

“He was full of attitude last night. He was launching, and he was growling and coming at us. It was exciting. I was glad to have backup there,” Long said.

It took four men to lift the gator into the truck, but moments before that the outcome was less certain.

“You know, I could feel my heart fluttering a little bit. But you know, I relate back to my training. It’s something I do -- game wardens do all the time,” Long said.

But relief set in when the gator was finally in the back of the game warden truck.

“We did not want to harm this alligator, so he’s going to live on,” Long said.

With the help of Gladewater first responders, Long relocated the alligator back to where they believe it came from, which is the Sabine River.

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