Woman steps out of Richmond home, finds gator on her porch

RICHMOND, TX (KTRK) -- A Fort Bend County homeowner called for help Thursday morning after locating an 8-foot alligator peering in her back door.

It was just after 6am in the Royal Lakes Estates subdivision.

"This alligator was hungry. Walked right up to someone's door saying, 'Hey - I'm here. Feed me breakfast. I'm hungry,'" said Christy Kroboth, who is with Gator Squad.

Kroboth was called by the homeowner to help remove the 8-foot gator.

"You could see his tail through the door. I looked out the window, he was right up against the back wall," said homeowner Heather Tejeda.

Tejeda says they see gators often in their neighborhood. There's a slough just behind their home and no fence. In October, she says there was an even bigger gator out front.

"I did panic with the first one, but he was down the driveway," Tejeda said.

Kroboth says right now gators are coming out of hibernation and looking for food. She tells us this one clearly has been fed and has lost its fear of humans. He put up a bit of a fight before she got the better of him.

"This alligator could have easily got the homeowner when she walked out or one of her small kids or a family pet," Kroboth said.

Kroboth is no stranger to gator wrangling. One took out its aggression on the bumper of her SUV last week. She's helped relocate dozens, including this 12 footer found at the River Point Golf Club. She sees her job as protecting both people and wildlife. Her father told us it was hard to watch her when she first started capturing gators.

"First time I saw her do it I ran the opposite way," said Robert Kroboth.

The gator captured Thursday will be relocated to a gator farm in El Campo, where it will live out the rest of its life.

Tejeda says she will now think about adding a fence around her yard.