I used to do the jump on the backside of Mansfield Dam. One day I scrabled up the wall, looked down the good 35' drop or so and say an enormous gar just hanging out right where I wanted to jump. I didn't jump that day, and never did again.
Memory is faint, but I seem to recall that the cartoonist Burke Breathed (formerly of Academia Waltz, then Bloom County and now Opus)got into trouble for releasing baby alligators into Town Lake and/or Lake Travis when he was a student at UT. Daily Texan did a story on it. I don't think any of them survived to maturity
Around 1999, a 3.5 foot gator was pulled from Town Lake. It was almost certainly an escaped pet (P.S. Alligators do not make good pets), somebody had painted some bright orange on its tail, presumably to help keep it in sight. It was going to be sent to a commercial farm (i.e. become wallets) but ended up at some sanctuary. This Chronicle link mentions the story:The Link And some photos of "Snappy":
