After three alligators were shot at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge between May and July 2026, Texas wildlife officials have opened a suspected poaching investigation, as originally reported by NBC DFW.
Of the three animals shot, two were killed, including a young alligator that had been tagged for a wildlife study, while a nesting female survived with what has been described as a crossbow or arrow shaft still in her neck.
What happened?
At the Lake Worth refuge, where hunting is prohibited, wardens say at least three alligators have been targeted between May and July of this year, as NBC DFW reported.
Visitors and kayakers alerted refuge staff to one dead alligator and to another animal in the water that showed possible signs of poaching…