Associated Press

Jason Henicke, left, and Roger Abshier, right, tag an alligator after killing it in Anahuac.

ANAHUAC, Texas -- Alligators normally outnumber people three to one in Anahuac.

The town's annual Texas GatorFest draws about 30,000 people -- more than 10 times the population.

But not this year -- after Hurricane Ike.

The storm has forced cancellation of the festival and made the 20-day gator hunting season a shadow of its normal self.

Wildlife officials say the habitat and food sources for alligators also took a significant hit from Ike, which hit Southeast Texas on September 13th.

But Anahuac Mayor Guy Robert Jackson vows the official "Alligator Capital of Texas" will rise again.

Alligators require fresh water to survive. So the rush of salt water from Ike sent them scurrying farther inland.

Tim Cooper with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the gators have been dislocated -- on the move, with no food available, and fresh water is hard to find.