Parents' Guide to

Gator 911

By Will Wade, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Real-life alligator wrestlers save residents from danger.

TV CMT Reality TV 2010
Gator 911 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

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age 6+

Based on 7 parent reviews

Momma Harris
Momma Harris Parent of 13, 14 and 17-year-old
July 6, 2010
age 2+

Gator 911 good & Educational for ALL!

I have watched EVERY Episode when it aired AND again on DVR. Gators are real and living in the Southern Costal regions and the wonderful creatures natural habitats are changing. This shows an alternative of getting a gun and putting a wounded animal out in the wild, or getting hurt trying to get rid of the problem yourself. Safety is stated strongly and tells ALL not to approach any wild animal.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
ClabberHead
ClabberHead Parent of 6-year-old
July 5, 2010
age 2+

Great for all ages

This is a wonderful show for anyone to watch. See real life people doing a real life job. To those who it's all about consumerism, if he didn't have the sanctuary for people to pay and see, he wouldn't be able to save the alligators. Most people here in Texas would shoot them first and ask questions later. The folks at Gator Country have to pay Texas Parks and Wildlife *$30* a foot when they rescue an gator, and they don't charge the person who called them. How else are they going to make money?

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

On the Texas Gulf Coast, alligators are a fact of life. As the human population expands, people encounter gators in their yards, in drainage ditches, in nearby lakes and rivers. The dangerous wild reptiles seem to be all over the place. So what do you do? Dial GATOR 911, and get Gary Saurage to capture the beast and haul it off to his animal sanctuary. This informative reality show follows Saurage and his team as they track down gators and then wrestle them into submission.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (7):
Kids say: Not yet rated

There are no tricks here, no special tools; the Gator 911 team members climb into the mud and subdue their quarry with nothing more than their bare hands and some rope or strong tape to close those powerful jaws. It's dangerous and exciting, and something that might be totally new for many viewers.

The show also provides an excellent introduction to the alligator, explaining basic facts about how and where they live, and why their environment is threatened. Despite his obvious respect for alligators, Saurage does not side with them. He operates a well-known alligator sanctuary, and his business depends on making sure that people see them as a nuisance, best seen from the other side of a fence. In this way, Gator 911 misses an opportunity to tell the entire story about these beasts, but it's still plenty of fun to watch.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about alligators. Did this show teach you anything new about alligators? What do you think about Saurage and his staff as they wrestle wild alligators into submission with nothing more than a rope?

  • Do you think capturing wild alligators is the only solution when they wander into populated areas? Isn't the larger problem that people are expanding into gator turf? Is there an easy fix for that?

TV Details

  • Premiere date: April 9, 2010
  • Cast: Gary Saurage
  • Network: CMT
  • Genre: Reality TV
  • TV rating: NR
  • Last updated: October 13, 2022

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