Shared on their Facebook page on March 26, a picture of an alligator which was spotted in Llano County last week was posted by the Hill Country Scanner. Area officials advised that local residents should remain vigilant for any additional sightings.
Photos of the creature identified it next to a bush or tree, which Tim Lewis advised, were taken near Skyline Drive in Kingsland. He identified its locale to KXAN news in a report they issued the following day. Since then, the Llano County Sheriff’s Office identified that it had received one report of the sighting on Saturday, March 24 and that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) had sent one of its animal control officers to investigate the matter. That individual had not seen the alligator or caiman, and no new sightings have been reported since.
Photo: Wikipedia
A spokesperson for the TPWD explained, “Our wardens are available to follow-up on future sightings and will take appropriate action to relocate a gator if it is at risk or poses any potential threat to human safety.” Area residents who witness an alligator are asked to call the Llano County Sheriff’s Office dispatch at (325) 247-5767 to make a reporting. Such sightings are not uncommon in Texas, but rare in this area. Lewis noted in an interview with DailyTrib.com that he originally believed the creature to be someone’s lost lizard, but managed to snap a couple of quick shots with his camera while he was out garage sale hunting. Although the news has reported that “…game wardens have verified alligators in habitats from Choke Canyon in South Texas to as far north as the Lampasas River,” in the past two decades, a representative of the TPWD has noted it’s extremely rare to see one in the Kingsland area.
