You'll probably be seeing more gators in the Houston area over the next few months

A male alligator at Larry Janik's alligator farm at Janik Alligators, Thursday, April 12, 2012, in El Campo. Larry Janik is a veteran gator wrangler, the guy people call when a gator is found in a pond or on the freeway. "Handling alligators is my golf game, it's what I love to do," Janik said. I do it for the excitement. It's a way to make money and do something I love." less A male alligator at Larry Janik's alligator farm at Janik Alligators, Thursday, April 12, 2012, in El Campo. Larry Janik is a veteran gator wrangler, the guy people call when a gator is found in a pond or on ... more Photo: Michael Paulsen, Houston Chronicle Photo: Michael Paulsen, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close You'll probably be seeing more gators in the Houston area over the next few months 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

This week a child walking to a piano lesson in a Missouri City neighborhood discovered a six-foot alligator lounging the front yard of a home. Luckily the child that encountered the gator wasn't hurt in the incident.

Quickly Missouri City police and local animal control were called out to investigate before game wardens with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department ended up removing and relocating the gator to the El Campo area, specifically to Janik Alligator Farm, just south of town.

This gator encounter means it's a good time to remind Texans that since late spring through summer is traditionally alligator mating and nesting season, gators will be more active and visible, and in turn the chances for human interaction are higher.

Capt. Fred Ruiz with the wildlife department's Harris County office says gator and human interaction is a common occurrence this time of year as temperatures heat up.

"During spring the males move around looking for mates and the females are looking for places to nest," Ruiz says. "They are animals, all they do is breed and eat."

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wildlife biologists and game wardens stress each year that education rather than over-reaction is key when it comes interacting with gators. The department would prefer the "live and let live" approach whenever possible. With neighborhood development encroaching on habitats, the reptiles may find themselves thrust into interactions with humans as they venture out of retention ponds or drainage ditches.

When it comes to gators, Ruiz says that size matters.

"The difference between an eight-footer and a seven-footer is greater than you would think," he said.

Just recently he and his team responded to two separate gator nuisance calls in the Clear Lake area. An eight-foot gator had found itself a spot in between two houses and a twelve-footer was in a ditch on the side of Hwy. 146 near some chemical plants. Both were relocated.

According to TPWD materials online, courtship and mating season for gators begins in late spring and continues through early summer. April through July are peak months for nuisance gator calls made to police and animal control.

Ruiz says that people who would like to report gator activity should remember that most of the time if they live near a body of fresh water, gators will exist, but that that doesn't necessarily mean they are in danger of being attacked. The department has nuisance gator hunters that go through classes to dispatch problem gators if need be.

"Use common sense when you call about a gator because if its not a nuisance and not posing a threat there is not a lot we can do about them," Ruiz says.

Nuisance gators are those termed by the Texas Administrative Code as being a threat to livestock, pets, and human health and safety. A practical definition of a nuisance gator for the public is one that is at least four feet in length and exhibits no fear of humans and has been reported as approaching people.

But the TPWD notes that not all of these calls involve true problem gators, with most handled by giving callers information about gators and how to safely co-exist with them. Some people call law enforcement when they see a gator of any size out of fear. Most of the gators eventually move on to other areas without further incident.

In October 2003 it became a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500, to feed a gator. Once a gator associates people with food, they will be hard to drive away, according to the TPWD. Likewise, attempting to domesticate or tame a gator is impossible, say game wardens, and illegal.

"They are not affectionate animals," Ruiz adds. You will not be able to raise a baby gator as a family pet, he adds.

According to Ruiz, many times gators will get relocated to Brazos Bend State Park or other unpopulated areas where they are less likely to come into contact with humans.

When game wardens do need to kill a gator that can't be dealt with otherwise, Ruiz says that they are usually dispatched with a .22-caliber rifle or a .40-caliber pistol. From there he says that none of the carcass goes to waste. The wildlife department hands the bodies over to a processor who harvests the meat and and skin from the reptile. That nine-foot gator on your back porch may end up as a pair of cowboy boots or a wallet, and the meat will be sold to the public.

Nervous Texans will be glad to know that there have been fewer than 20 alligator attacks on humans documented in the state over the past 60 or so years. Most resulted in minor injuries that did not require medical attention, and none have been fatal. There has been no documented alligator-caused human fatality in Texas in more than 150 years.

Whether we like it or not, Ruiz says, gators are a part of Houston's and the Harris County ecosystem.

"They don't call Houston the Bayou City for nothing," Ruiz says. On that note he says that they aren't typically found in the areas of Buffalo Bayou near downtown, so you shouldn't worry about finding one meandering around looking for scraps.