800-pound alligator named Godzilla captured by Texas woman outside shopping centre

A 800-pound alligator, nicknamed "Godzilla," had to be corralled by a woman in Texas after it wandered outside of a Houston-area shopping centre. The 50-year-old alligator, which is blind in one eye, was taken to reserve to live out the rest of its days after being captured.

Godzilla was spotted at the Sugar Land, Texas centre on 8 November by centre employees. Christy Kroboth, a licensed "nuisance alligator trapper," was called to help subdue the massive alligator and restrain him before he was moved. The 30-year-old dental assistant told Fox News, "Whenever I show up on scene, the police department or animal control always says, 'You're the alligator trapper? We were expecting some guy!'"

According to Fox, Kroboth received a call around 6.20am on 8 November about a 7-foot-long alligator that was roaming the car park of the First Colony Commons Shopping Center. While Kroboth was sure the capture would be easy, the alligator actually turned out to be a 13-foot alligator that weighed close to 1,000 pounds.

"He's probably the biggest live-caught alligator in Texas," she said. Fox News reported the woman used a blindfold, duct tape and a Home Depot forklift to load the reptile into a truck. Kroboth added to KXAN, "We tried several different attempts on how to catch him. Finally, we thought we had him wore out enough to put two people on the back of him and hold his mouth that way and kinda outweigh him which clearly did not work."

Godzilla was released on 9 November into a protected alligator sanctuary. He is not only blind in one eye, but is also partially blind in his other eye. "He might be able to see only shadows, so he probably got lost and ended up in the parking lot," Kroboth added. "He was scared and laid down and needed help."