Oklahoma residents safely remove alligator from highway

ROBERTA, Okla. — An Oklahoma couple did a double take on Christmas Eve when they saw a young alligator crossing the road.

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Katy Landry and Kelby Archer were traveling through Roberta to visit family when they spotted the 4-foot reptile, KXII-TV reported.

“I said, ‘Turn around, that was a gator in the road,’” Landry told the television station. “Sure enough, there was an alligator just chillin’ in the middle of the road.”

Archer wanted to be cautious, but Landry took the alligator by the tail -- literally.

“I’ve seen enough episodes of ‘Crocodile Hunter’ to know, to kind of stay away,” Archer told KXII. “But (Landry) actually went up and grabbed it by the tail.”

The couple was able to secure the alligator’s mouth and get it off the highway. Then they called a game warden.

The warden said that since alligators are native to Oklahoma, spotting one is not unusual. Wildlife officials typically wrangle them and release them into nearby bodies of water so they can return to their natural habitat.

“The first rule in being a redneck is, you know, don’t mess with stuff, call a game warden,” Landry told KXII.

Landry and Archer broke that rule, but they are both safe and so is the alligator.

Wardens cautioned residents not to approach alligators and call a wildlife official immediately, KXII reported.