A Texas dad had to take action to protect his kids from a massive alligator.

Our partners at News 10 report Andrew Grande and his children were playing near a canal in League City late last month when the gator approached.  He quickly grabbed his daughter and got everyone behind a fence.

The alligator stayed around where they were for almost 30 minutes, which indicates to me that he wasn't too afraid of them.

The gator was captured by authorities after being pulled from the canal.

The reptile was about 600 pounds and measured close to 12 feet long.

Grande said alligators are known to be in that area, but has never seen one that size.

The reptile has been transported to a gator sanctuary where hopefully he'll live out the rest of his life.  Thank goodness no one was injured by this massive gator.

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, American alligators usually stay away from people, but encounters between gators and humans have increased as people have encroached on their habitats. Gators can sometimes feed on people's pets, and are known to be surprisingly quick on land.

We even have gators here in Central Texas, though you don't see them too often. Back in 2015, two Killeen men were charged with taking wildlife resources without land owner consent when they killed an 11-foot gator along the Lampasas River near Stillhouse Hollow Lake.

Have you spotted any alligators here in Central Texas?

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