A viral social media graphic claiming a 12-foot alligator garfish made an epic journey up the Trinity River is spreading rapidly online,
To verify the claims, I contacted Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) media branch directly.
According to TPWD media representative Kirk McDonnell, the department’s media office consulted with Inland Fisheries staff regarding the image and the claims attached to it.
My first question addressed the whether TPWD has satellite-tagged alligator garfish.
The post uses the word “pinged,” a term commonly associated with satellite-tracked marine animals.
In wildlife telemetry, a “ping” typically refers to a location signal transmitted from a satellite tag — particularly SPOT (Smart Position or Temperature Transmitting) tags that became widely known through shark tracking studies conducted by organizations such as OCEARCH, Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, and the Harte Institute’s Fin Finder program.
“No, the Department does not have any alligator gar satellite-tagged. There have been some acoustic tag studies throughout the last ~15 years, but never any satellite tags.”
They also addressed the specific size and movement claims made in the viral image itself.
“The world record Alligator Gar is over three-and-a-half feet shorter than the purported length of this fish and unless it is riding in the back of a truck, movement like that would be impossible. Essentially the fish would have to travel well over hundreds if not thousands of miles of river and navigate through a number of impassable dams.”
In other words, the story circulating online is not biologically realistic.
Over at GulfGreatWhites.com, I’ve had to debunk similar viral wildlife misinformation involving great white sharks. Several highly inaccurate shark movement graphics and tracking claims have circulated online over the last month and they spread rapidly.
This latest alligator gar graphic appears to follow that same pattern — a sensational wildlife claim shared widely online without legitimate sourcing, scientific documentation, or confirmation from the agencies supposedly involved.
Chester Moore
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