Workers at Bentley Elementary School in Richmond, Texas, found a 5-foot alligator strolling along a sidewalk next to the school building earlier this week.
The Houston Chronicle reports that the animal apparently emerged from a construction site adjacent to the school.
"The rumors are true," the school's Facebook page said. "We had to turn away a visitor from registration this morning," the post said. "Our school resource officers were quick to assist and the local game warden came to the rescue."
Ryan Powers, the Fort Bend County game warden who removed the animal, estimated the gator's length.
"They always look bigger in pictures, and people always think they're bigger than they are," Powers said. "I had to jump on its back. I'm just under 6 foot and it was substantially smaller than I was."
Powers said pretty much every body of water in Fort Bend County has an alligator in it.
"That (alligator) in particular looked like it came out of a construction site that was next door," he said. "That is why it was moving around,. Certain things disrupt them, whether it's high water or drought. They can start moving around, and that's when they start showing up on doorsteps."
