Ask DuckSouth..............Alligators

[tdaggett]

Well, after this weekend, it appears we have at least 1 gator living in the flooded timber on our lease in Humphreys County. One of the guys claimed it was "about 6 feet long" another says more like 3-4 feet, nonetheless big enough to hurt someone or a dog.
The question is: What can we do? It's private land, and I have no problem with catching, or killing it, just want to be on the right side of the law whatever we do. I'd love to catch it, and release it somewhere far from our lease, and my wife would love an alligator handbag. Either way, I don't want it getting hold of my leg or my dog. What to do? Wingman, that's you neighborhood, what say you? Help. Please!

[arduckslayer]

If you had known about it before June 30th, you could've applied for private lands alligator tags and harvested it legally. Now, I'm not sure what to do. But, by the time duck season rolls around, he'll be hiding for the winter and your dogs should be safe.

[blgros1]

[Agua]

Some guy on the old MDWFP boards said when the water gets below a certain temperature they don't eat because they can't digest food and that's why they're no threat during duck season.

Your gator might disagree with the MDWFP board guy though.

[DUCKAHOLIC]

Igf you want him out contact the conservation officer in the area.......I promise you dont want to be caught with him in your possession alive or dead

[rbsdrake]

[brake man]

We had gators show up for the first time last year at our place in the Tunica area. I called and talked to the "Alligator Guy" with MDWFP and asked him what to do about alligators on private land. Here's a synopsis of what he told me:
- I can't (legally) kill, hurt, trap, or harass an alligator for any reason whatsoever, even if my life is in danger
- There are only 12 (I think that number is correct) southern counties in MS that have gator hunting for public or private lands. If you aren't in one of these counties, then you can't personally (legally) do anything about the gators
- If there is a "problem" gator, then contact MDWFP so they can come remove it for you
- There has never been a documented case of an alligator attacking a human in the state of MS (really comforting, huh?)
- Don't bother the gator, and he won't bother you. However, you might want to let the temperatures get pretty cool before you send your dog on a retrieve.
- If you see one, then there are probably many more you won't see. To get an idea about how many you have, go out in a boat at night in the dark, throw something large into the water close to you, wait a couple of minutes, and then turn on a Q-beam. Check out all the pairs of eyes that you see around you. They all belong to gators who want to know what is on the evening buffet.

Hate to give you bad news, but we humans have to take a backseat to the big old lizards. When we were growing up, we had to worry about cottonmouths when going to my grandparents farm. Now we have to worry about them, alligators, and mountain lions (because two friends have seen them slip over the levee by our farm). Pretty crazy stuff.

[Wingman]

Call me and we will discuss.662-962-4868

[GulfCoast]

They ARE still active in the winter if the weather hits a mild spell. It will scare the poop out of you to see one pop up when there is a dog in the water.

The "alligator guy" at the NORCO spillway always says that a gator less than 10 feet will not harm a dog. However, he will not take me up on using his dog to test out the theory in a pond we know to be full of gators.

[DeltaCotton12]

[blgros1]

[Greenhead22]

I saw a 6 footer grab a beagle one day. I'm calling bs on the 10ft remark.

[dawg-n-duck]

[kris Schaumburg]

the ambient air temp has little to do w/ their sluggishness. Its all about water temp, except that on a good sunny day they can haul out and get their temp up quick and be really active. Most of the time in the winter, they are so sluggish its comical but not always. I can remember seeing them in the marsh when we were younger and it froze more often. they would bust a tiny little whole in the ice and push their nostrils through, and not move a muscle. You could tap them with a paddle run over them, nothing. vice versa, I've seen them when it was in the 40's outside really moving around good on a bright sunny day. They will eat duck carcasses off our dock all winter on sunny days, so I'm gonna have to call BS on the not eating in the winter. How about, they don't expend as much energy, but I don't think its in their nature to pass up an easy meal.

[Money]

Speaking of gators...

10-foot gator bites off man's hand in Fla. canal

NAPLES, Fla. — Florida wildlife officials say a 10-foot alligator bit off a man's hand while he was swimming in a canal with friends.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro says 18-year-old Timothy Delano of Naples is recovering at a hospital. Officials managed to catch the gator and retrieve the hand from its stomach, and doctors may be able to reattach the hand.
Ferraro says Delano was swimming with three friends around 9:30 p.m. Sunday when the alligator attacked.
The men swam to shore and drove to a gas station, where they called 911. Delano was flown by helicopter to a hospital.
Wildlife officials say people should stay out of freshwater canals and lakes this time of year because alligators are more active, especially around dawn and dusk.