A massive alligator was captured early Monday morning after holding up traffic on U.S. Highway 59 in Cleveland, northeast of Houston.
The nearly 12-foot alligator made its way to the highway near the State Highway 105 intersection, a short distance from a Whataburger. (Perhaps it wanted a burger.)
The alligator was attempting to cross the southbound lanes when it was clipped by an 18-wheeler.
The gator survived the incident and wildlife wranglers were called to help remove it from the highway and relocate it, officials said.
Chance Ward, a well-known gator wrangler, was contacted to assist officials in relocating alligator. [[481270591,C]]
Ward said he used a couple of lariat ropes from his truck to rope the reptile.
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Two officials worked together to tie his feet behind him, then six men loaded the aggressive animal into the back of the truck.
"I thought the gator would have moved on by the time I got there, but when I arrived the road was blocked and they were letting traffic flow in one lane," Ward told the Houston Chronicle.
Cleveland firefighters shut down all southbound traffic while the gator was removed.
The alligator is now safe and is being kept on Ward’s Tarkington farm in a stock trailer.
