SUGAR LAND, Texas (KTRK/CNN) – Residents in a Texas neighborhood are doing everything they can to help an alligator.
Sugar Land neighbors spotted the gator with a large knife lodged in its head, and now they want to assist the animal before it’s too late.
“We love our wildlife here,” said Erin Weaver who’s lived in the neighborhood for the past six years.
She said she didn’t have any concern for the reptile residents until Thursday morning.
“I saw him swimming and then I saw him turn like swimming towards me, and I saw something sticking out of his head,” Weaver said. “It looked like a steak knife that was sticking out of his head.”
Her photos and others have made the rounds on neighborhood social media groups, drawing concern for how this happened.
“I feel that somebody did this on purpose,” Weaver said. “Never have I seen them aggressive or even defensive. I mean, if you walk by and startle them, they just go under water.”
The community is trying to figure out what to do next.
“I want to get help for this alligator,” Weaver said. “I don’t want to see an alligator swimming around with a knife in his head and suffering. And to get a knife in there, I mean someone had to really throw it hard or stabbed this poor thing hard.”
Weaver said Texas Parks and Wildlife was contacted and neighbors are expecting a game warden to check out the animal next Monday.
The Brazos Bend State Park superintendent said alligators are very resilient and infection resistant.
Superintendent Chris Bishop is optimistic that the animal is not in pain and could live like this for some time.
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