Here’s What To Do With Gators Displaced By Hurricane Flooding

With Hurricane Harvey barreling toward the coast of Texas, the state’s residents have no doubt been busy preparing for any havoc the storm may wreak, including extreme flooding. But beyond the potential damage those rising waters could do to homes and property there’s another eventuality Texans should be ready to handle: Displaced alligators.

Harvey is expected to hit Texas as a category 2 hurricane when it makes landfall late on Friday or early Saturday, and could dump up to three feet of rain on the southeastern part of the state.

The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office has been offering helpful tips and advice to its Twitter followers in the days leading up to the storm, like “don’t drive through high water” and which groceries you can eat without electricity.

It’s also got the scoop on what residents should do if they come across an alligator, with photo examples of where one might unexpectedly encounter these reptiles:

Gators and flooding advice via @txgatorsquad: Expect them to be displaced. Simply looking for higher ground. Leave alone until water recedes pic.twitter.com/nN1B5jvMyV — FBCSO Texas (@FBCSO) August 24, 2017

Got it? No picking up gators — not even if you think you could trade one for a six-pack of beer at your local convenience store (spoiler alert: you can’t).

*Thanks to Sarah for the tip!