HERALD-BANNER (Royce City, Texas) 13 July 05 Alligator in Gee Lake turns out to be big fish story (Deborah Davies)

The alligators in tiny Gee Lake at Texas A&M University-Commerce have now been more accurately identified as alligator snapping turtles, but not before providing some excitement and even a little fun on the campus.

A professional wildlife biologist cleared the mystery when he trapped two alligator snapping turtles weighing about 25 and 40 pounds apiece in the campus pond, which is adjacent to Highway 50 and University Drive in Commerce.

Biologist Mark McDonald, who happens to have been a student at the university in 1975, was called in by University Police after several reported sightings last week of an alligator in Gee Lake.

But the only gator he ever spotted, McDonald reported Wednesday, was a toy version that a prankster had floated onto the pond after the alligator rumor started.

Laughingly McDonald remarked: "We caught that one."

"That plastic alligator was full of about as much hot air as some of the stories I've been hearing," he joked.

The chances of an alligator wandering into Gee Lake, which is only about two feet deep in most places, and remaining hidden for days on end were slim, he said. "It's too manicured around there," he said, "for an alligator to stay out of sight."

Just to be on the safe side, police had put out signs warning passers-by to stay back from the lake. The signs have since been removed.

It's easy to mistake an alligator snapping turtle for its namesake, McDonald pointed out, because of the turtle's large head, its broad, spiny back, and its long, primitive-looking tail. The largest of the two turtles he caught in Gee Lake had a head that measured about 4 inches across.

Though a turtle may not carry the mystery that an alligator does, it is not an animal to be taken lightly. Alligator snapping turtles are the largest freshwater turtles in the world. With its powerful jaws, it is a deadly hunter, and the ducklings in Gee Lake must always beware--or be lunch.

Alligator snapping turtles are a protected species, McDonald noted, and he released the two he caught back into Gee Lake, which makes it likely there will be enduring reports of gators there.

Jason Bone, public information officer for the University Police Department, said the university will ban fishing in the lake to help protect the turtles.

"I asked (McDonald), 'What does the university need to do to protect these things?'" Bone said. "He said, 'First off, just ban fishing altogether.'"

"We have a lot of kids who go fishing for bait and things like that. They're going to put up signs and (university police) are going to make sure it's enforced just to protect them."

During the several days McDonald stood watch over the pond, he was approached several times by curious onlookers who asked, "Are there alligators in there?"

His dry reply was: "Yeah, there used to be, but the white rhino in there ate him."
Alligator in Gee Lake turns out to be big fish story

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• TX Press: Alligator in Gee Lake turns out to be big fish story - W von Papineäu, Thu Jul 28 18:43:29 2005