{"id":405461,"date":"2026-08-13T12:44:56","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T12:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/405461\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T12:44:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T12:44:56","slug":"3-alligators-shot-in-fort-worth-nature-preserve-reward-offered-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/405461\/","title":{"rendered":"3 alligators shot in Fort Worth nature preserve, reward offered"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexsis Jones | KERA News, Fort Worth Report
August 11, 2026<\/p>\n

The illegal shooting of three alligators inside a Fort Worth nature preserve has sparked a state investigation \u2014 and a potential reward for information.<\/p>\n

Two of the alligators were killed and abandoned, while the third survived, according to a\u00a0social media post<\/a>\u00a0from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, which announced the $1,000 reward for information.<\/p>\n

The department said a crossbow bolt was used to shoot at least one of the animals at the\u00a0Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge<\/a>\u00a0in Lake Worth.<\/p>\n

The other injuries could have been caused by a small firearm or crossbow, since the object used to kill them wasn’t found, said Game Warden Mariah Hampton.<\/p>\n

The three separate incidents occurred between the months of May and July, and it is not clear if they were related, Hampton said.<\/p>\n

“I think there’s separate incidences,” Hampton said. “The thing is, we’re just finding it all within that three-month span. It could be the same person. We’re not ruling that out.”<\/p>\n

Hampton says while illegal animal killing cases are not rare, this is the first case like this she’s seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found these three gators and I’ve only been here in Tarrant County for three years,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is the first time that I’m hearing of something like this here in Tarrant County.\u201d<\/p>\n

This <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/08\/11\/3-alligators-shot-in-fort-worth-nature-preserve-reward-offered\/”>article<\/a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<img src=”https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”><\/p>\n

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