Archives of The Cold Blooded News

The Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological Society

Volume 31, Number 8;   August, 2004

American Alligators: From Endangered to a Danger

"A 5-year-old Lake County [Florida] boy was in the hospital... recovering from an alligator bite he got while swimming in a Sumter County lake... with his dog splashing around in the late afternoon. This almost recipe for disaster ended well because the child was wearing a life jacket and popped back up to the surface when the alligator let go. Trappers suggest the gator realized it wasn't the dog he had caught and opened his mouth. The gator was later trapped and killed."

"Family seeks new dog after gator killed pet." Only the day before, the family's pet sheepdog escaped from the 9-year-old child set to mind her, ran through a hole in a fence towards a Florida canal and was seized and killed by an 8-foot-long alligator that was later killed by trappers. The story probably should have been subtitled, "Why you should have and use a well-fitting leash on your pet at all times."

"Since 1948, there have been 200 unprovoked alligator attacks in Florida on humans. Twelve people have died. The latest death occurred in June when a 12-year-old boy was attacked while swimming with friends. As all herpetologists are aware: (1) The standard times of day for alligator activity are early morning and late afternoon, when most other wildlife is equally active. (2) Do not feed any gators as that will make them unafraid of people and more likely to attack. (3) Swimming in Florida lakes is strongly discouraged due to the high concentration of alligators in the lakes. (4) Don't let your dog splash around in the surface waters of the states of Florida or Louisiana if you still want to have a dog."

More than 2,000 applied, but only 180 gator hunters were chosen in Georgia's first official alligator hunt since gators were placed on the Endangered Species List in 1987. "State officials hope the hunt will curb the problem of gators getting into carports and swimming pools," according to USA Today. Only the hunters paid for the $50 license which lets them take one four-foot or longer alligator.

Gators are now being hunted legally in Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana. Florida officials estimate their state has more than a million alligators while Louisiana's may number more than 1.5 million. As Newsweek reported, these high numbers "would be fine if [alligators] weren't such a pain." All states require catching the alligator before killing it, pointing out "you don't want zinging bullets around [because] they tend to skip [over water]." The hunt brings in a lot more to local economies than just the price of meat and skins. Louisiana estimates that combined impact on their economy from alligators totals $54 million a year including tourism, hides, meat and other processing. The $54 million annual economy boost in Louisiana seems like a lot, but works out to $36 per living gator.