SABINE PASS, Texas — You don't expect to see alligators when you go to the beach in Southeast Texas, but one family was greeted by a monster when they went last week.
Hunter Ham brought his wife and three kids to Sea Rim State Park in Sabine Pass on Saturday. He said they were driving around the beach around 4 p.m. when they saw something they'd never seen before.
"What a beautiful creature, at a distance," Ham said.
It was a massive gator enjoying a mid-day snack in the sand. Ham posted the video to his social media accounts.
Ham said he's from the area near the Texas-Louisiana border and grew up fishing and surfing the same spot where the gator was munching. He said it was the first time he ever saw an alligator there.
"This chill dude had no fears," Ham said. "First time ever seeing a gator on the beach."
Wildlife experts said gators will sometimes go from freshwater to saltwater briefly to rid themselves of parasites. Ham said the one he saw had wandered from the freshwater behind the dunes on the beach.
He said the gator was calm and didn't bother him or his family at all.
"You could tell, this was his beach and he was chilling without a care in the world," Ham said. "He was just catching some rays and probably going to wash off the parasites. Seemed like a chill gator when given space."
While filming, the gator chomped down on a bull redfish. Ham said he could tell because he's been fishing them for 30 years. He said he thought the one the gator had in his mouth was about 28 inches.