{"id":764207,"date":"2026-07-15T11:10:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/764207\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T11:10:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:10:26","slug":"see-an-alligator-in-the-trinity-river-thats-a-good-sign-for-the-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/764207\/","title":{"rendered":"See an alligator in the Trinity River? That’s a good sign for the environment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Contrary to the rumors that Fort Worth\u2019s alligator population is made up of pets that people let loose, the reptiles are very much native to the area.<\/p>\n

According to Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge manager Jared Wood, the first recorded gator spotting here was in 1849.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, researchers don\u2019t know much about the local population, Wood said. That\u2019s why his staff is running a long-term gator spotting operation, part of a yearslong study to establish a baseline of knowledge. How many gators live here? How big are they?<\/p>\n

About 20 minutes northwest of downtown Fort Worth, a special-built gator research boat roars through the Trinity River wetlands, vast expanses of water clogged with yellow lotuses. Staff are looking for the signature glint of an alligator\u2019s eye. Once they find a gator, they get it in the boat, tape its mouth shut, tag it and measure it before releasing them back to the wild.<\/p>\n

NTX Now host Miranda Suarez and KERA News photojournalist Yfat Yossifor tagged along with nature center staff on a gator-spotting mission and had the opportunity to meet one.<\/p>\n

\n 1 of 12
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a006122026_fort worth nature center alligators_07_KERA.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Jared Wood, chats with KERA\u2019s Miranda Suarez while driving the research boat and Megan Davis McConnell looks through binoculars for alligators Friday, June 12, 2026, at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. <\/p>\n

Yfat Yossifor \/ KERA<\/p>\n

\n 2 of 12
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a006122026_fort worth nature center alligators_01_KERA.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Water lilies and reeds line the shores of the Trinity River at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. <\/p>\n

Yfat Yossifor \/ KERA<\/p>\n

\n 3 of 12
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a006122026_fort worth nature center alligators_02_KERA.jpg\n <\/p>\n

An alligator floats near the shore of the Trinity River at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. <\/p>\n

Yfat Yossifor \/ KERA<\/p>\n

\n 4 of 12
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a006122026_fort worth nature center alligators_09_KERA.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Jared Wood looks out over the Trinity River with Megan Davis McConnell for alligators Friday, June 12, 2026, at Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. <\/p>\n

Yfat Yossifor \/ KERA<\/p>\n

\n 5 of 12
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a006122026_fort worth nature center alligators_10_KERA.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Jared Wood, right, and David Reasoner catch a 4-foot alligator to tag and microchip for research Friday, June 12, 2026, at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge.<\/p>\n

Yfat Yossifor \/ KERA<\/p>\n

\n 6 of 12
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a006122026_fort worth nature center alligators_04_KERA.jpg\n <\/p>\n

The 4-foot alligator\u2019s mouth is taped shut while it is tagged and microchipped for baseline research Friday, June 12, 2026, at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. <\/p>\n

Yfat Yossifor \/ KERA<\/p>\n

\n 7 of 12
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a006122026_fort worth nature center alligators_11_KERA.jpg\n <\/p>\n

David Reasoner, left, and Jared Hall hold down a 4-foot alligator to tag and microchip for research Friday, June 12, 2026, at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge.<\/p>\n

Yfat Yossifor \/ KERA<\/p>\n

\n 8 of 12
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a006122026_fort worth nature center alligators_12_KERA.jpg\n <\/p>\n

David Reasoner tags a 4-foot alligator for research Friday, June 12, 2026, at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge.<\/p>\n

Yfat Yossifor \/ KERA<\/p>\n

\n 9 of 12
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a006122026_fort worth nature center alligators_08_KERA.jpg\n <\/p>\n

David Reasoner looks through binoculars for alligators from the research boat Friday, June 12, 2026, at Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. <\/p>\n

Yfat Yossifor \/ KERA<\/p>\n

\n 10 of 12
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a006122026_fort worth nature center alligators_03_KERA.jpg\n <\/p>\n

The 4-foot alligator\u2019s mouth is taped shut while it is tagged and microchipped for baseline research Friday, June 12, 2026, at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. <\/p>\n

Yfat Yossifor \/ KERA<\/p>\n

\n 11 of 12
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a006122026_fort worth nature center alligators_06_KERA.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Jared Wood, manager of the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge, holds an alligator that has been tagged for research Friday, June 12, 2026, in Fort Worth. <\/p>\n

Yfat Yossifor \/ KERA<\/p>\n

\n 12 of 12
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a006122026_fort worth nature center alligators_13_KERA.jpg\n <\/p>\n

David Reasoner looks for alligators for research Friday, June 12, 2026, at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge.<\/p>\n

Yfat Yossifor \/ KERA<\/p>\n

Alligators are a ‘keystone species’<\/p>\n

That means they have an outsize impact on their environment, according to Wood. They’re an apex predator that helps control the population of the animals around them, and large adults maintain their own watering holes.<\/p>\n

“If you have alligators, it’s generally a sign that if you can support that apex predator, you have a healthy wetland system,” Wood said. “And if we have healthy wetlands, that means we have good water for the city of Fort Worth.”<\/p>\n

Why it’s important to learn about alligators<\/p>\n

Alligators are what’s known as a charismatic species<\/a>. That’s a type of animal that appeals to the human public \u2014 think pandas or tigers.<\/p>\n

Being able to see an alligator in real life demystifies them, Wood said.<\/p>\n

“The feeling when you have the animal next to you, especially an adult, the fear almost goes away,” he said.<\/p>\n

People need opportunities to experience the nature around them, Wood said, noting that Fort Worth is losing natural land to development every day.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What it’s like to hold an alligator<\/p>\n

The alligator pictured in this story was between four and five feet long and 15 pounds. That’s about the weight of a small dog, like a beagle.<\/p>\n

In fact, Yossifor compared it to holding her dog Wilder. To Suarez, it felt more like holding a surprisingly warm leather handbag.<\/p>\n

Miranda Suarez is cohost of KERA’s NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at\u00a0msuarez@kera.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today<\/a>. Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Contrary to the rumors that Fort Worth\u2019s alligator population is made up of pets that people let loose,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":764208,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":["post-764207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=764207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/764208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=764207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=764207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=764207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}