KVOA

Posted: Oct 1, 2009 10:26 AM
Updated: Oct 1, 2009 10:31 AM

CORPUS CHRISTI - A group of friends got together at Labonte Park on Sunday for a day of fishing.

They came back with a fish tale that has some "bite" to it.

23-year-old Rachel Temple was spending a leisurely afternoon at Labonte Park fishing with friends - she was fishing for catfish - when all of a sudden...

"I threw out a piece of beef heart and I got an alligator at the end of my line!" said Temple. When asked if she was surprised, she replied, "Very surprised!"

Temple managed to snag a three-foot alligator, and it was a struggle to reel it in.

Temple recalled, "It was snapping and going all crazy so we threw a towel over it and wrestled it into the cooler."

However, keeping it in the cooler wasn't all that easy. At one point ,the alligator got out and tore up the backseat of Temple's car.

After finally getting the alligator secure in the cooler, Temple noticed it was in deep trouble.

"I was terrified when I first saw it," said Temple. "I called my mom screaming and asked her 'What do I do with it?' It had a hook in its neck and it was wrapped up in line."

Letting it go would have meant certain death for the little alligator. So instead, Temple packed the cooler in her car and took it to her father.

He removed the hook, cut the lines away, and called local marine biologist Tony Amos.

Amos picked up the two-year-old reptile and after making sure it wasn't injured severely, released it at an undisclosed location.

He also had some advice for Temple and her friends. It turns out they were in some danger, because although the gator was small, as Temple put it, "Because where there's a baby... there's a mom."

Wildlife officials told KRIS 6 News that if you do come across an alligator: Leave it alone and walk away.

Online Reporter: Dave Fraser