Judy Cochran got revenge on Monday for her beloved miniature horse that mysteriously vanished at her Texas ranch three years ago. She lodged a single bullet from a Winchester .22 Magnum rifle between the eyes of the prime suspect — a 12-foot, 580-pound alligator.

Ms. Cochran, 73, is accustomed to the local spotlight. She is the mayor of her small town, Livingston, and serves on the board of a local bank and a hospital. But she wasn’t used to the international attention she received this week for killing the gator.

“There are all these negative comments at me personally,” Mayor Cochran said Thursday morning.

Her story went public on Tuesday in the Houston media and was picked up by news sites worldwide. “The best story from Texas alligator-hunting season features a great-grandma avenging her miniature horse,” read a typical headline, on Quartz.

Since then, Ms. Cochran said she had received at least a dozen phone calls at her home and office. Most callers are positive, she said, but some have been vicious, even threatening.