By Kevin Jefferies
Commerce – The alligator warning signs have been removed from Gee Lake on the A&M-Commerce campus. After many hours of searching and many visitors coming by to try to get a peek at the possible gators, the signs reading, Warning. No Entry. Alligators. have been taken down.
Several people reported seeing the alligator, and the signs were put up as a precaution to warn visitors. Eventually, the signs seemed to actually attract more visitors and spectators instead. Since last Friday, the banks on Gee Lake have seen people day and night hard at work searching for the alligator.
Wildlife Biologist Mark MacDonald, who was called in to capture the possible gator, said there was a possibility a large male had burrowed up under the Performing Arts Center on the banks of Gee Lake, and only came out at night once a month to feed. However, he also said the likely explanation for the alligator sightings were simply large turtles, a few of which he did capture in traps.