An alligator spotted in Dallas County pond has been trapped and relocated.
David Bosecker, a game warden for the Texas Parks and Wildlife said the 6-foot-9-inch long male alligator needed to be relocated because it didn't show any fear toward humans.
"This alligator had lost its fear of humans, and there was a growing concern in regards to the alligator attacking a person," he said.
Bosecker said the alligator stared at bait set by a trapper for 30 to 40 minutes before he took it and got caught in the snare.
"He was taken to a farm in Van Zandt County, where he will be kept in a more appropriate environment and possibly used for educational purposes," he said.
Bosecker said it took about two hours to wrangle the reptile, which he believes was feeding on turtles, fish and frogs in the pond.
Charlie Harris, of the East Texas Gators and Wildlife Park in Grand Saline, said the gator was calm and docile.
"There’s a pretty good chance someone may have been feeding him, because he was calm when he got here," he said. "He came right up here with these other alligators. Usually when we first get an alligator, they disappear for three or four days, but he came right up like he’d been fed."
Harris said people can expect to see alligators in uncommon places.
"All the big storms and rains and hurricanes we’ve had -- every time the rivers and creeks swell, they use it like a highway, and there’s alligators showing up where there never has been," Harris said.
Bosecker said alligators are common in Dallas County. He said he expects the population in North Texas to get even bigger.
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"It is going to be more common over the next 10 to 15 years," he said. "This is their native habitat. They are migrating back into this country."
NBC DFW's Omar Villafranca contributed to this report.
