A six-foot alligator found outside a Dallas middle school in 2016 was headed for a new address near Seagoville. Its destination was Palmetto-Alligator Slough Preserve, a county-owned wetland property southeast of Dallas.
The encounter began just after midnight on May 25, when a patrolling officer noticed something lying in the grass near the campus. At first, the officer thought it was a log. A closer look revealed that the object had considerably more life in it than a piece of fallen timber.
Texas game wardens were called to collect the animal. They captured it around 4 a.m., and the television report identified the preserve near Seagoville as its relocation destination.
Officials suspected the alligator had come from the nearby Trinity River, although its exact journey was not established.
The receiving property fits the animal’s wetland surroundings. Dallas County describes Palmetto-Alligator Slough as a 264.5-acre preserve containing four ponds, three wetlands, and Parsons Slough. It lies in unincorporated Dallas County near Seagoville.
The preserve also supports stands of dwarf palmetto, giving the property both halves of its memorable name: palms and alligators. It is closed to public entry.
The episode left an unusual connection between a nighttime school patrol and a local conservation property: what looked like a log became a wildlife capture, followed by a planned move toward Seagoville.
