Alligator from Louisiana found 400 miles away in Texas

National Park Service rangers speculate the gator floated across the Gulf of Mexico

The young alligator has been sent to a local rehabilitation centre to be treated (AP)

A young alligator has traded its home in the swamps of Louisiana for a sandy beach 400 miles away in Texas.

The gator was discovered on Malaquite Beach, at the Padre Island National Seashore, in Corpus Christi on Monday.

National Park Service rangers found the alligator but can only speculate on how it came to make such a lengthy journey.

The tags on its body confirmed it came from Louisiana, and park rangers think it may have floated across the Gulf of Mexico.

Kelly Taylor, Padre Island National Seashore public information officer, told CNN: "We are kind of speculating that perhaps it was washed out during one of the flooding events in Louisiana,"

"It had a significant amount of algae on it's back that leads us to speculate that it was floating in the Gulf for a while."

American alligators are primarily freshwater reptiles so they are often found in the coastal wetlands in swamps or rivers, but can tolerate saltwater for a few hours or days, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website.

Ms Taylor added: "As a fresh water species being in salt water we can make assumption it was probably dehydrated."

She confirmed the gator has been sent to a local rehabilitation centre to be treated.

Additional reporting by AP