In 2018, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department investigated an alligator sighting in Kingsland, Texas, near Lake LBJ. Steve Lightfoot, TPWD spokesman, reported that, “Sightings are uncommon. They do occur, so it’s not totally out of the realm of possibility.”

The TPWD also reported, “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.” In 2021, alligators were mostly sighted in East, South, and southeastern Texas, but the gators do wander into southeastern Hill Country, which includes the Lake LBJ region.

Are There Alligators in Lake LBJ?

Yes, there are rare sightings of gators in Lake LBJ. Lake LBJ is part of the Texas Highland Lakes System managed by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). The Highland Lakes include Lake Austin, Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ, Lake Marble Falls, and Lake Travis.

Are There Alligators in Austin, Texas, Lakes?

Yes, there are alligators in the southeastern region of the Texas Hill Country. The TPWD categorizes alligator habitats in core counties and non-core counties. None of the Highland Lakes are in core counties where there is a high population of alligators.

Core counties are Texas counties constituting the prime historical habitat for the American alligator in Texas, where commercial hunting is viable. The TPWD engages in significant biological monitoring of the resource and manages harvest through tag issuance to landowners. Texas non-core counties have different rules for hunting gators.

Are Alligators a Problem in Texas?

No, the authorities do not recognize alligators as being a problem in Texas. There are 232 non-core counties in Texas, and 22 core counties. Alligators are ancient creatures and prevalent through the southeastern U.S. states. East and South Texas are a part of that vast region that stretches to Florida.

Alligators have inhabited Texas’ marshes, swamps, rivers, ponds, and lakes for many centuries. They are an important part of Texas’ natural history, as well as an integral component of freshwater ecosystems. Scientists estimate the American alligator developed evoluntionarily between 100 to 65 million years ago.

Alligators lived in Texas, and many other parts of the U.S. long before ancient native peoples inhabited our lands. Caddo Lake residents in the Ark-La-Tex region manage to cohabitate with a high population of alligators with only rare dangerous attacks and maiming incidences. Small animals and small dogs are preferred meals for alligators, along with marine life.

The TPWD manages alligators according to populations in different counties, and hunting regulations for alligators in Texas are strict. The TPWD reports, “The story of the American alligator is one of both drastic decline and successful recovery, a story of state and federal cooperation, and truly one of the prominent success stories of the nation's endangered species program.”

Alligators in Austin, Texas

In December 2021, Alberto Garnica Jr., a Travis County game warden, heard a bellow from a retention pond near three long dark culverts at the edge of the pond on the southeastern edge of the Austin metroplex. Another warden joined Alberto. They beamed their flashlights through one of the culverts, and the gleam of several pairs of red-orange eyes were returned in the light.

Garnica believed that at least one of those gators was living there permanently and others may be joining it. Berdoll Farms sits on the far southwestern range of the alligator’s preferred native habit ecoregion in Texas. The Berdoll Farms Homeowners' Association has been reporting alligator sightings there dating back to 2013.

An abundance of otters, crawfish, turtles, and fish are available to support these Berdoll Farm gators. Longtime residents in this part of Travis County acknowledge that the gators have been there much longer and they haven’t caused a problem. Newcomers to the Travis County area from other parts of the U.S. are unaccustomed to cohabitating with gators.

Never Feed an Alligator: It Is Illegal

It is illegal for an extremely logical reason based on centuries of knowledge from the folks who live in East Texas, southwestern Arkansas, Louisiana, and Florida. Why? Gators instinctively fear humans and will not normally attack people.

If only one person feeds a single gator, it poses a future threat to humans and a opens up a new gateway to the property near the feeding location to children, pets, deer, cattle, other livestock, and wildlife because the gators become acclimated to human interaction, lose their fear, and hunt the new grounds.

It is illegal in Texas to feed an alligator. Since October 1, 2003, it has been a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 for anyone caught feeding an alligator in Texas. Human-fed gators are called nuisance gators. Even in non-core Texas counties, feeding a gator is dangerous to humans and the ecosystem.

Characteristics of Nuisance Gators

The presence of an alligator does not constitute a nuisance situation. If residences and commercial properties are located within or adjacent to habitats occupied by alligators, rare interactions do occur. Alligators are not naturally aggressive towards people. They avoid people and human-populated areas in their habitats, unless they have been fed intentionally or indirectly fed, such as by fish feeders or discarded fish remains thrown into the water.

Any alligator that has preyed upon or attempted to prey upon humans, pets, or livestock, or an alligator that shows aggression and lack of fear of humans by regularly approaching human activity is considered a "nuisance alligator". People who feed gators intentionally or indirectly create nuisance gators. Leaving fish remains in water or on the waterfront is illegal in many state and federal wildlife management agencies, and is considered indirectly feeding a gator.

Alligators do not naturally patrol neighborhoods, busy beaches and waterfronts, and popular fishing areas in their habitats. The following are instances in which local authorities should be notified about a nuisance gator:

• If you see an alligator in the roadway.
• If an alligator is repeatedly following boats, canoes or other watercrafts, and/or maintains a close distance without submersing.
• If you walk near the water and an alligator comes straight toward you, especially if it comes out of the water.

Gator Safety Precautions

• DON’T feed alligators.
• DON’T get too close to them.
• DON’T swim or wade where they are.
• DON’T let your pets near them.
• DON’T agitate or tease them.
• DON’T try to catch one.
• DON’T approach an alligator’s nest.
• DO observe from a safe distance.
• DO discourage others from feeding them.
• DO treat them with respect as an important element of nature.
• DO get additional information about alligators from your local Texas Parks and Wildlife Department office, or contact the Alligator Program directly at 10 Parks and Wildlife Dr., Port Arthur, Texas, 77640, or [email protected]