That's such a huge commitment but just seeing this set of pictures for the first time, it warms my heart. What an absolutely adorable little lake monster.
@@lechkenassh9008 This is not true. Not for gar. They are an air-breathing fish. Their gills are not very good at taking in oxygen, and so they also have a lung for breathing air as well. They are actually quite hardy, and can be found living in every type of body of water, aside from saltwater. This is everything from deep raging rivers to shallow stagnant ponds. They don't need deep water. They really only need a few feet of depth, providing they have enough room to move about without constraint. So long as it is deep enough to have water in the bottom not freeze up in the winter, then they are fine. When it gets cold, their metabolism slows down, and it also increases the oxygen level in the water around them when it gets cold, so they can survive when the water freezes above them. Those things are everywhere around here in Texas. I like fishing, and so I encounter them quite often.
They grow up so fast. One day, you're feeding them tiny shrimp and minnows..and the next day, you're rummaging around in its stomach to get your 3 fingers back to see if doc can reattach them.
They're armored, and can gulp air, so they don't need to have the same level of panic response that many fish rely on for survival. They were absolutely incredibly animals in the wild and I really hope that we're able to restore them throughout our water ways now that we understand them better. It's so terrible that people in the past tried to cause their extinction simply because they couldn't tell them apart from actual alligators and hysteria followed.
90 years old?! Wow man you’re going to be a awesome grandpa if you end up having those at 70-80 years old that would be crazy. If they survive that long, I’m sure you will still have them at that age
Or if they get really big and really healthy they may join one of the reintroduction plans someday. We don't even really know what the upper limit on the ages because there was an eradication campaign that wiped most of them off the map. I've been hoping for decades, that people would realize these were an important ecological role in the Great lakes water system similar to wolves on land and start reintroducing them and I'm thrilled to have learned that that process is finally being discussed. They were eradicated because people developed hysteria and assumed that they caused drownings when in reality they never did anything related to that and are incapable of it. It's generally believed that if you alligators pulled people down and were mistaken for alligator gar and then it was just all hysteria spreading from there. The mature adults of this species are absolutely phenomenal and likely cause the majority of freshwater monster stories seen in North America today because they're so few of them left in many areas that people have never seen one before so when they do see one their imaginations get the best of them.
We found a shriveled up upside down baby turtle looked dead for sure where we live, put him in a bucket of water and it came back to life and released it the next day
Yep. Know your species. Alligator gar are all stars that can live in desiccated pond muck and then come right back once the area floods again. The only reason they've become so rare in the wild was humans intentionally trying to wipe them out, because people are prone to hysteria and we're blaming drownings on them which obviously they didn't do because the amount of damage he got from the bite when it was little there, is pretty comparable to the amount of damage they can do when they get bigger because their mouth gets progressively smaller relative to the rest of themselves. They only eat small fish, so at worst you're going to get some pinholes, but it actually is even funnier because their teeth get bigger when they get older and they're less sharp so, yeah they're not a big deal. A bit of a scrape maybe a bit of a cut, but that's only if for some reason you shove your body part into their mouth while they're in the process of eating a fish.😅 I may be gushing here, but this is probably my favorite North American Apex predator.
You can also do the same for betta fish. We had one that had hopped out of its little 10gallon tank. He was on the floor and looked dried out and dead. I put him back in, and he started wiggling and then swimming once his slime softened.
@@darcieclements4880 Are alligator gar rare in the wild? I've come across a few places where they're pretty common. I think for the most part they've learned to avoid humans.
as a kid one of our mystery snails crawled out and was all dried up covered in cat hair but my dad wanted to put it in the tank just in case and yup...mfer was still kickin and lived for a while yet
Awesome. I remember as a kid coming up on a canal that had dried during a drought. A bunch of alligator gar, some up to 5', had gathered in the remaining pool of water. Since they could gulp air, they were hanging on. But I don't know if any survived. I never went back. What an amazing creature. I also recall in the 70's and 80's fishing for big alligator gar in Offatt's Bayou off 61st in Galveston. We fished for them using gulf menhaden under a cork. It was catch and release, of course. Some of them jumped out of the water when hooked. Because of that, we started calling them garpon (because they jumped like a tarpon).
I am so glad you explained what happened to the other pond… PONDS !? I knew something had happened, but I had not investigated further. Thanks for bringing us, who were behind, up to speed.
It's more likely that after the one passed the other one poked at it. Unfortunately with these types of animals when they're very young like this there's a lot of developmental things that can go wrong very suddenly so you do see a spontaneous mortality rate. Pretty much any creature that grows a massive amount over its lifespan, or is produced with many many siblings is at especially high risk of sudden death. I've done necropsies on a lot of these cases in different species and it's ridiculous how long some of these animals can live without things like livers, but eventually it catches up with them.
60 years ago my dad brought home an alligator gar. I would invite friends over to see it feed. We only had fish for a year but when we moved overseas my dad gave a local school the 20 tanks and fish he kept in them. Great video. Thanks. Glad he survived his escape attempt. Our walking catfish did this at every opportunity.
I love Brazos' story! It's too bad that drought lasted so long! All the gar are so cool. But Brazos is my fav! And I am so glad that he survived jumping out of his fishy pool! I know you must feel relieved to have all the Gar in a place that you can control. ❤
Gar can use their swim bladders as rudimentary lungs. Obviously being out of the water and allowed to dry out for so long is very dangerous, but gar have a much better chance of surviving a situation like that than most other fish.
Man, this was a tear jerker🥲❤️❤️ Watching those sweet little fish grow has been amazing. We love you, Brazos! You future kids and their kids will love him just as much as you!!!!
This is insane to see. 5 years ago I had a horrible mental situation and started watching your gar videos on a whim to cope. I was just a teen back then. I'm doing considerably better now and I'm super happy to see how well Brazos is doing. Long live both you and he!
I'm so glad you stuck with it through the hard times, this new pond looks awesome and a lot easier to maintain. I had a shakey start when I had a goldfish pond that soon developed into a Koi pond, I had bad advice and the conditions were not ideal which caused maintenance problems and fish health issues. I ended up making a bigger pond 6ft deep with good filters and pump which has done me well for the last twenty years, the Koi are happy and healthy and now a good way for me to chill out and forget my worries. Looking forward to watching your pond and inhabitants settle in and planting develope.
i was given an elderly tarantula cus some family friends were moving, i knew he would die in my care but i was still sad when he passed, they had hand raised him from a little speck too. the owner said he was the size of maybe your thumb nail. His name was Esau :)
I absolutely LOVE to see content like this. These animals are amazing, but so many people take fish like these and try and keep them in small home aquariums for their entire lives. Getting to see these awesome animals getting the care they need and deserve is awesome. Keep it up.
Yeah it's a shame, but it's a big deal that there are people who are caring for them into the larger sizes since the populations in the wild are still very messed up in most states.
Wow, that was so good. Thank you for sharing memory lane with us. I have been following you since before you got the Gar…. so cool.!!! Looking forward to the turtles 🐢 joining
Man, time definitely flies. It still feels like way back when we were coming up with names for every new turtle in the pond and watching slo mo bass blowouts
Wow, you just transported me back to 2019, my favourite year! I remembered the video of baby Brazos as if it all happened yesterday! Time really has flown. Thank you for being such an amazing human being for all the animals around you and hope to watch many more of your adventures! Rest in peace Trinity 😔
Excellent! It really is amazing that Brazos survived out of water that long. I know catfish can survive out of water for a while but didn't know that about gar. I caught a gar once in Lake Murray, S.C., but when I got him close to the bank he thrashed around and got off the hook. At first I thought I was snagged on something. A strong fish!
you made me have a new appreciation for alligator gar. they’re so underrated and under appreciated. i remember when brazos was in a tiny little tank all those years ago. thank you so much for sharing your love for alligator gar
They're such amazing fish, it's really sad how they've been treated in the past and that their range has shrunk so much in America. Hopefully more places protect them and stop Bow fishing for them instead only allowing catch and release with rod and reel.
That is so cool!! I didn't know you had them from thìs small. Brazos is lucky to have such a caring owner! You've done so much for them, put in all the energy, money and effort as you did, amazing. Glad they are in a beautiful and safe pond again. Thank for this wonderfull story and video!!
Love this so so much, I can’t believe how many years it has been!❤ I almost got a little emotional at the end you really found the best possible home for them!
Wow, five years. I’ve been watching the entire journey. I love it. Congratulations on five years and I hope to see many more with you and the little ones.
I think I fell in love lol I've got a 12 years old Iguana and sometimes I look back how time passed so fast, feels like yesterday when he came to my house and I didn't expect we were gonna be together this long. Amazing video, best wishes for you and Brazos
Man i used to watch your videos back when you fed turtles and catfishes and made some popsicles from shad lmao,I was in a small child back then now I'm in a college haha. Lots of memories flooding in and damn brazos grew really fast.
You're so incredibly gentle with your garfriends, and, it would seem that they fully trust you as their guardian. I too wish I could have property to be able to plant things and to have a pond and swimming area! Nicely done🙏❤️😇
I remember that finger bitten video, and everybody in the comment said they were not surprised at all😂 Can't wait to see more creatures in the new pond.
Believe it or not, Gar are an air breathing fish. Their gills are not efficient enough for them to survive on the oxygen from water alone. They have a form of lung that they will gulp air into to take in the oxygen they need. This is why you can tell if gar are in the vicinity, because you will see them flick their head out of the water to take a breath. There are other fish like this such as the betta and mudskipper, as well as catfish. But the thing about catfish is, their gills do function better in water and the can get all the oxygen they need from it. This is often a means to help them cross over land from a dwindling pool of water, back into the nearby lake or river. A catfish can literally live for hours outside water, just like the gar.
I really enjoyed that. Nearly all of those gar trust you implicitly, except the newbie Phantom. You could tell by the body language of the fish. In time I am sure you will win that one over as well. They are truly beautiful fishes and have sleeker lines than a torpedo (like an old blue print for the modern day pike and muskie). For such a sleek, stealthy fish, its hard to believe they are a pre-historic species.
Awesome life journey of your alligator gar and you answered so many of our questions about your past ponds in this video and why you moved them. Would love to hear more about how you acquired this property and the other creatures which will be moving in there
I love their Texas river inspired names, and that Texas flag aquarium was so beautiful 😍 I'm so happy for you that you've been able to create such a beautiful backyard pond!
A very interesting watch and fun! I hope Brazos and all the rest do manage to outlive you! That would be awesome. You really show how much you care about them which is great. I never enjoy the part of feeding live animals to other animals but I get it. I just wish people didn't show that part lol, it's just not something I think should be admired. But everything about this video and these ancient fish is awesome and they're beautiful beings. Here's to a long, long life for all the gar! And sincerely, good job for being a good pet owner. There are a lot of fish owners who are absolutely terrible to their fish and don't even know it. You really gave these gar a fulfilling life to the best of your ability. They couldn't be more lucky.
This video was fascinating. Didn't know the term for young alligator before this. It's quite a journey you had. For the 1/10 youtube recommendations that actually hit the mark, this was top. Thanks for posting.
If I'm not mistaken, their gallbladders act as a modified lung. The only downside is that they need them to breathe and a fish drowning is quite the doozy. The upsides include being able to be swift and fresh in low oxygen water, and being able to survive a whole day without water. Thats probably why Brazos jumped out of his pond and you found him in the driveway, if they dislike something about their current puddle of water they can just get out of it and move to the next in their natural environment.
Alligator gars are such beautiful and fascinating creatures I'm glad you took good care of yours even into adulthood instead of what most do which is just release them when they outgrow their tank.
Awesome update and story! Looking forward to more video’s when you release them! Can’t believe it’s been 5 years and they flew by. Thanks for sharing! Take care dude see you next video!
Brazos is amasing! I love the excellent care you provide all 3 of your toothy pets. I've also loved gar ever since I met my first one. We didn't have alligator gar where I grew up, but I loved to watch the big long-nose wallow in the shallows. After I was married to my first husband, I loved to freak him out by going swimming with them- he was sure they were gonna eat me, lol! I moved to a new state in 2021 and had tons of spotted, long-nose, and HUGE alligator gar in the lake behind our house, but then they drained the lake. I hope all of them escaped...😢
Imagine the things a fish sees in 90 years! This was great and my friend has some gar that I love to watch. Eels are fun too! Those long slender bodies are so cool to watch hunt. They literally shoot like a dart lol. Thanks for the knowledge and phantom is beautiful! Is that an albino?
I feel so happy watching this one and hearing your journey! I've been watching since about 4 years ago and i remember all about the old ponds, the failed two ponds (That the bird ravaged), and the second failed pond (That got ravaged by drought). those were heartbreaking not gonna lie Here's to the new pond! And here's to more of Brazos!
I was smiling the whole time bc I remember seeing all the videos and to see them together like this man how much he had grown he is absolutely beautiful ❤ they all are.
Started watching late into the journey. Brazos was so little when you got him. I live by the Trinity river in Ft. Worth and I am sorry to see Trinity didn’t make it. 😢 Love watching your videos and can’t wait to see more. ❤
