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After drawing crowds along the coast, Boots now lives in a protected habitat in Southeast Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Padre Island Madre<\/p>\n
A once-famous Port Aransas alligator<\/a> has found more than just a new home in Southeast Texas<\/a>. Boots may have also found a mate.<\/p>\n It’s been about a month since the 12-foot alligator was relocated to\u00a0Gator Country<\/a> in Beaumont after drawing crowds along the coast. His growing comfort level around people had become a safety concern.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n “Unfortunately, when he was in the wild, he had been hand-fed, and that led to him needing to be removed,” Gator Country<\/a> owner Gary Saurage told Chron.<\/p>\n That loss of fear is exactly what made Boots dangerous in the wild. It is also what is helping him adjust quickly to life in a controlled environment.<\/p>\n On\u00a0Feb. 21, Boots was moved to Gator Country, where he now lives in a three-acre pond with other large alligators. Saurage said Boots immediately picked up on the routine.<\/p>\n “It really is kind of fortunate because when he gets to the country, he knows to come to the food,” Saurage said. “He’s doing incredibly well\u2026 he’s not scared of us, and he’ll come and let us feed him.”<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n And he hasn’t wasted time settling in.<\/p>\n “We keep a pretty even male-to-female ratio, so he’s had no trouble having romance already,” Saurage said. “He’s doing really well in that department. He’s probably going to be a dad here in August. There will be a lady Boots, no doubt about it.”<\/p>\n That “lady” appears to be Blossom, an 8-foot alligator that has lived at Gator Country for about three years. The two have already been spotted swimming side by side and lingering near each other, early signs Saurage said often lead to mating.<\/p>\n Boots has been spotted spending time with a female alligator names Blossom at Gator Country.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gator Country<\/p>\n “They’re not involved in the act at this moment,” he said, then described how it typically unfolds. A male begins sticking close to a female. The two start feeding together. Eventually, courtship begins with low growling in the water.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n “There’s probably another 40 alligators in the area, but they kind of do their own thing,” Saurage said. “It\u2019s like they’ve rekindled their relationship when they both got to Beaumont.”<\/p>\n If things continue on track,\u00a0Saurage expects a sizable nest.<\/p>\n “I’m sure there’ll be 30, 35 eggs in her nest,” he said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Boots’ arrival has already drawn visitors<\/a>, many coming specifically to see the coastal celebrity in his new home.<\/p>\n “We’ve got some famous alligators.<\/a> We’ve got Big Al<\/a>, we’ve got the world record with Big Tex, but I’ll tell you what, Boots holds his own,” Saurage said. “He’s got a big fan club out there and we’ve probably seen 30 to 40 guests already that’ve come by to see him, anywhere from Port Aransas<\/a> and Corpus Christi<\/a>, even San Antonio<\/a>.”<\/p>\n Gator Country has been sharing updates on Boots’ new life on its social media accounts<\/a>, where fans can follow along.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not everyone has been thrilled about the move.\u00a0Saurage said he still hears from people who want Boots returned to the wild, but he is blunt about why that is not an option.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n “Those people are simply not educated in the world of alligators and dangerous animals,” he said. “Ninety-eight\u00a0percent of the people have been very appreciative of what we’ve done. There’s just some people who get a little selfish sometimes, and they want the alligator to stay there, and they’re not putting human safety as number one, and we do.”<\/p>\n Boots now lives in a three-acre pond at Gator Country in Beaumont.\u00a0<\/p>\n Padre Island Madre<\/p>\n Facilities like\u00a0Gator Country play a specific role in cases like this.<\/p>\n “We are the only facility in the country where we can take in those big alligators like that,” Saurage said. “Unfortunately, if they don’t come to us, they get euthanized. So Boots and Blossom really hit a home run being able to come here.”<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Saurage said he has also been in discussions with Texas Parks and Wildlife<\/a> about what comes next in Port Aransas, where another alligator is expected to move into the same territory.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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