Alligator Skull from the Brazos

I found this a couple of years ago wading in the Brazos river. It has been sitting in my closet since then, and I thought y'all might like to see it.

I do believe it is fossilized to some degree, but it is not rock hard. It is obvious that it had been buried for a very long time before the river washed it out. Hope I never see one this big alive! Measurement from the eyes to the nose is 15 inches. Though not a totally accurate way to measure length, that would put this gator somewhere close to 15 feet long.

Thats a one old lizard, that would put him over 50 years old atleast if i remember things right before he died. Cool find.

Neat find, what part of the Brazos??

that is too cool

Very cool find there!

Now that's a really cool find.

x2

Now that you know there are alligators cruising the water, will you be wading in it again?

Very neat!

It was close to College Station, where I typically go look for fossils. Any fossil hunters on here?

And yes, I still go wade around in the Brazos.

great find

That's a bigun! So have you given him a name?

Is that your best fossil find?

That is awesome!

Very cool.

Yes I hunt some ..Sulphur river and a few places in Ft Worth ,not as much as a used to. The kids grew up

Big old boy

Yes, I would say that's my best fossil find. I've read old newspaper articles from the area and seen pictures of mastodon skulls and tusks that were pulled from the river years ago. That's really my goal. The River is not very accessible by boat due to lack of boat ramps, but I get out there quite a bit on the kayak. Just takes a while to get where you are going!

any one seen the video of the gater caught bye the gater boys?

Where are you putting in at? We used to put a 14 foot jon boat in under 21 60 and 105, lots of work, but lots of fun. I always wondered if there were gators in there, looked like gator territory to me, but never saw evidence of any, tracks slides nests or anything like that.

sure wouldn't want to come across that feller alive! How did you see it? Water receded and you saw it or what?

could have been 15 ft long give or take a few inches nice find

I've put into the river on 105 before with the jon boat. That was back when I didn't have an all welded one that weighs twice as much. The lock and dam above 105 is pretty cool if you have never been. Every now and then they pour a new asphalt ramp down there when someone drowns. They usually don't last a year though.

Saw a guy lose his boat pulling it out at hwy 60. Rope broke. I've been thinking about building a cable system of some sort to lower my boat in. Right now I mainly put in on private property that I have access to.

Me and some buddies put in at hwy 21 several weeks ago and kayaked all the way to highway 60. It was a 17 mile trip with the wind in our face and very little current. Probably won't do that again unless the river is higher and we camp a night on the way.

As far as how I found it...I was wading in about a foot of water and looked down by my foot and saw it. Honestly, I thought it was still alive at first. That's probably the fastest I've ever jumped out of the water.

Wow. Bet he was one helluva tree shaker. Awesome find.

I would say also use a clear coat on it to protect it and so it wont crumble ...

You think I should clean it first, or just clear coat it as is? I don't really want to get it wet again.

IF you clean be very gentle and use a toothbrush with a soft soap. let dry fully and clear coat . Fossils are made when stone displaces bone.So if its not fully done it will crumble,but very nice find ..be proud !

good find

If you dont want to get it wet just brush off with and old tooth brush and spray

That is a neat find. I would bet that gator was 75 or more yrs of age.

and a very rare one ...

Haha.. might have been me under 60 that had the rope break, was a bad night for me. If you are the one who helped me out for a bit I truly appreciate it and the little dorcy led flashlight you left me is a gem.

Oh and by the way if it was me, I didn't loose the boat, a little swimming had it out of the river... its deeper there than I would have thought! We had it up and running and actualy back out on the river the next morning.

Wouldnt that be funny

Id bet it probably was, I was with one other guy in a mid '90's red chevy pickup.

It was a sign to me that there really are good people left in this world.

give him back his flashlight LOL

Wow thats a monster! They just caught one near college station that was 12ft. Most people dont realize they get this far North.

I'm pretty sure that was me! Did you have a newer (I think) mercury on the back of the boat? Wish I could have stayed longer but my roommates had to get back to town for something if I remember right.

If that was you, the only thing I was worried about was that motor. I bet it cost more than the entire rest of the rig with the price of outboards these days, haha. How did you finally get the boat out?

You were setting trot lines, right? Catch anything?

BTW, someone posted a video not too long ago on TFF of an alligator up yegua creek on Somerville.

very cool find

Yup sure was us. Yeah we bought the motor used for 700 bucks a great buy, the boat and trailer were 200. I was worried about it too, but got it back home checked the oil(its a 4-stroke) not a drop of water in it and the gas tank was still hooked up and it floated no water in the gas either we just let it dry out and started it, never had a problem.

I swam out in the water we took the boat back off the trailer and were able to get it out with me pushing and my cousin pulling and did the same with the trailer. Then we used the rope to drag the trailer and boat up separately which worked pretty good.

We did ok caught two yellas around 20 lbs, nothing spectacular but I was happy especially to have my boat still floating!

Again I cant thank you enough for your help!

Any time man. I was just disappointed I didn't get to stay for the ending! Glad you got some use out of that flashlight!

You still live in the area? If so, hit me up sometime if you want to go fish/hunt.

I sure do miss the fishing, but sadly Im no longer in college or college staton I live in San Antonio now have a job wife and mortgage... but life aint all bad I still get to go fishing some!

What a shame...hard to find a good fishing buddy these days.

For sure, expecialy ones willing to put in the effort it takes to get to some cool places like the brazos etc.

good find

That is one awesome story and one awesome find!