KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Gatorland is loaning 60 alligators to a Texas park that lost about a quarter of its population when Hurricane Harvey hit the state.
The owners of Gator County Adventure Park and Sanctuary in Beaumont, Texas, arrived at Gatorland Saturday to pick up the 60 5- to 6-foot-long American alligators.
The Great Alligator move is underway! Watch for us on the News today to see how Gatorland is helping Gator Country recover from the hurricane! #gatorland #gatorcountry #hurricaneharvey
Posted by Gatorland Orlando on Saturday, September 30, 2017
Watch: 2,000 alligators prepped for Hurricane Irma at Gatorland
"We are just so fortunate that Gatorland was not heavily damaged and we did not lose any alligators in the storm," said Mark McHugh, president and CEO of Gatorland. "But even before Hurricane Irma hit Florida, we saw the devastation in Texas from Hurricane Harvey and began looking for ways we could help.”
Read: GATORLAND is new home to 70 animals from closing theme park
According to the owners, Gator Country received a record 52 inches of rain during Hurricane Harvey and lost about 40 of their alligators to the floodwaters.
Gator County owners Gary and Shannon Saurage hope to breed the alligators and yield about 100 babies in a year.
"I think this relationship between us will really set a precedent for alligator parks to come together and help one another,” Shannon Saurage said.
Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
