Game warden warns of fines amid reports of live animals being fed to alligators on SPI

April is the start of alligator breeding season and as each day passes, more calls are flooding in about gators being spotted on South Padre Island.

Texas Game Warden Captain James Dunks says the main issue isn’t that they’re wandering around, but more so that people are feeding them whole chickens.

He says the department has received an increase in calls from concerned residents who have witnessed people feeding the alligators live animals.

Dunks says feeding the gators can result in fines up to $500.

He also adds that they've never had an alligator attack a person in Cameron County before and they plan to keep it that way — as long as no one feeds the gators.

"We typically get a lot of calls because it’s alligator breeding season," said Dunks. "The bigger males tend to kick out the smaller males out of the area, so we get them wandering around all over the place. Once you feed an alligator, that alligator loses its fear of humans and hunts humans and food in the same category. If you don’t have any food, that’s when you become the food.”

Although some of the alligators are in secluded areas, others are within meters of where people kayak and paddle board.

Dunks says only when an alligator is in serious danger or is a threat to the public is it then transported to a wildlife refuge or donated to private property with the homeowner's permission.

Original.