In the heart of southeast Texas, where alligators roam freely through swamps and waterways, Albert, an eleven-foot-long, 750-pound alligator, has found a new home at Gator Country Adventure Park, in Beaumont. His journey from an indoor pool in Hamburg, New York, to the largest alligator sanctuary in southeast Texas has sparked discussions about exotic pet ownership and wildlife conservation.
Founded in 2005 by Gary Saurage, with Arlie Hammonds joining later as a copartner, Gator Country is a haven for more than 450 American alligators. The park plays a crucial role in alligator conservation and education in a region that’s home to Texas’s largest alligator population. Notable residents include Big Al, believed to be around 93 years old, and Big Tex, who at nearly fourteen feet long once held the national record for the largest alligator caught alive.
Albert’s story began in August 1990, when he was purchased as a hatchling at a reptile show in Columbus, Ohio. For 34 years, he lived as a pet in Hamburg, New York, residing in a custom-built indoor pool. On March 13, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) seized Albert, citing expired permits, public safety concerns, and worries about the alligator’s health. The story made it all the way to The New York Times, with the gator’s owner, Tony Cavallaro, telling a reporter, “I did everything by the book . . . I hope I can get him back.”
After evaluating facilities nationwide, the state agency decided to relocate Albert to Gator Country, deeming it capable of addressing his significant medical needs. He’s been there since early May. “When we first got him, he had maggots in his ears,” said Blue Hammonds, the park’s manager (and Arlie’s son). “As soon as we put him in the water, though, there’s minnows in there, and they got rid of all the maggots.” Blue, who said he had never seen an alligator in such poor health, noted that one of Albert’s nictitating membranes—the transparent inner eyelid that helps gators see underwater—was gone. He also couldn’t move well or open his jaw wide, so he required assistance during feeding. Blue had to place his hand on Albert’s jaw and slide food into his mouth.
Despite these challenges, the team at Gator Country immediately began working to improve Albert’s health. They began feeding Albert a calcium-rich diet to strengthen his bones, and were heartened to find that the sick gator at least had an appetite. “He ate it really quick. To be honest, he scoffed it down,” Blue said. One favorite meal: “Two chicken bones, or two chicken legs, two chicken wings, and a whole rat.”
I visited Gator Country just nine days after Albert had arrived, and it was obvious that he was still adjusting to his new surroundings. He remained tucked away in a corner of his enclosure, making it difficult to observe him. “He didn’t have real mud or grass before,” Arlie said, so the gator may not have known what to do with his newfound freedom. Instead of swimming in his new pond, he sat mostly unmoving in the water, staring blankly. “He was still trying to figure out how to be an actual alligator in a real pond,” said another Hammonds brother and Gator Country employee, Elijah Hammonds.
But by September, Albert had begun venturing out, engaging in normal alligator behavior: basking in the sun, digging in the mud, and swimming in deeper water. Despite his curved back and cloudy eyes, the reptile has shown remarkable adaptability, shedding some of the 750 pounds that had made it hard for him to move around. “He loves to feel the mud, rain, and sunshine,” Arlie said. The staff often plays chase with Albert around the ponds, helping him stay active and encouraging natural behaviors, such as turning in the water as alligators do when hunting or evading predators.
The staff at Gator Country have decided to keep Albert in his own enclosure permanently, rather than integrate him with other alligators. Elijah explained that since Albert had been alone his whole life, they didn’t want to subject him to the stress of breeding season or risk anything going wrong while he was still adjusting to his new life.
The park has integrated Albert into its educational programming, using his story to teach visitors about proper alligator care and the pitfalls of exotic pet ownership. In Texas, which has famously lax regulations for exotic pets—so much so that escaped pet tigers occasionally appear on the loose in public—aspiring gator owners must apply for an alligator-farmer permit, which involves meeting certain health and safety requirements. But that doesn’t stop bad actors from violating the law. In March 2023 Texas game wardens seized Tewa, a gator that was illegally kept as a pet for twenty years in Caldwell County; she eventually found a new home at the Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo, in New Braunfels.
As Albert adapts to his new environment, his story illuminates the complex needs of exotic animals and the challenges they face when kept as pets. Each day, Albert learns to be more of an alligator in his new habitat, a process that is undoubtedly challenging for a creature who spent 34 years in a vastly different setting. The bond he shared with his original owner was significant, and I can’t help but feel sadness imagining the separation—a sentiment familiar to anyone who has loved a pet. But Gator Country’s expertise in alligator care, combined with its specialized facilities, offers Albert the best chance at a life that aligns with his natural instincts.
Albert has become a point of interest for visitors to Gator Country. His enclosure frequently attracts curious onlookers. Eddie Hanhart, one of Albert’s handlers, described how the sanctuary handles visitors’ curiosity about the animal: “He is a goofy-looking alligator. A lot of times people come by and see him like, ‘Hey, what’s going on with this guy?’ And that just leads into a whole new story that we can tell them.” For now, Albert is living the best life an alligator in his unique circumstances can—a life that, day by day, is becoming truer to his species.
