Only in Texas — Alligator in the Rio Grande
FROM A Capitol Blog
The immigration debate has spawned a number of off-the-wall solutions to keep Mexicans from illegally crossing the Rio Grande – the river that divides Mexico from the United States. One rather cruel solution suggested recently is to fill the Rio Grande River with alligators or crocodiles. Not only was the idea off the wall, I thought, but the Rio Grande is so polluted that surely gators could not survive. Well the Associated Press moments ago proved me wrong when they reported that Mexican fishermen captured a 7.5-foot-long crocodile in the Rio Grande. Click here for the rest of the commentary.
AP offered the basic facts as follows:
Mexican fishermen capture 7.5-foot crocodile in the Rio Grande 10/08/2006 Associated Press Mexican fishermen captured a 7.5-foot-long crocodile in the Rio Grande, the river that divides Mexico and the United States, and turned the animal over to a local animal shelter, authorities reported on Sunday. The animal was caught on a fisherman’s line on Saturday in a sparsely populated stretch of the river on the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas. The crocodile weighed about 130 pounds and appeared to be in good condition, said Jose Moreno Araiza, a commander of the Nuevo Laredo fire department, where the fishermen first brought the animal in the back of a pickup truck. It was then turned over to the local Animal Protection Society, whose president, Gina Ferrara, said the croc would be kept for the time being in improvised holding area complete with a pool of water. Federal environmental officials were informed of the capture, and will eventually decide what is to be done with the animal. Crocodiles do not normally inhabit the Rio Grande, and authorities believe it may have been brought to the area as a pet and then released into the river by its owner. Undocumented migrants frequently swim or ride inner tubes across the Rio Grande to reach the United States. Click here for the story.
Thanks to Texas corrpesondent Cappy White (who saw the Cal-Oregon game live on Saturday) for this report.