The shores of Galveston witnessed an unusual visitor this past weekend when a video emerged of an alligator body surfing near Pirates Beach. The footage, shared by a beachgoer named Megan Jones, comes on the heels of similar sightings in the region, including a June encounter at Jamaica Beach, chronicled in a video posted by KHOU. These appearances have been noted a couple of times a year along the Gulf Coast, says Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Speculation sparked on social media platforms about the nature of the reptilian beachgoer, with some suggesting the possibility of it being a crocodile. Especially since after Hurricane Beryl, at least 200 crocodiles have been displaced into urban areas north of Mexico, some questioned if this visitor could have been a long way from home. However, this theory was shut down by a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesperson, Stephanie Garcia, who confirmed to Chron, "It's not clear what it is doing but it is likely feeding or temporarily displaced due to flooding."

Despite the alarm, experts say that alligators venturing into saltwater is not unheard of. They can tolerate the saline environment for a few days - often to wash off parasites, especially after heavy rainfall, Dr. Lene Peterson, a researcher at Texas A&M's Galveston Marine Biology Department, told KHOU. Moreover, Alligators could get pushed into more northern ranges of their traditional habitats due to changes in freshwater availability.

Interactions with these apex predators, while startling, are usually not a cause for concern as long as humans maintain a safe distance. As Dr. Peterson aims to understand, such movements may become more frequent if freshwater habitats continue to be altered by storms or drought, inadvertently leading to adaptations in alligator behavior.