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Cajun sportsmen bag many toothy
'dinosaurs' in a controlled harvest
'dinosaurs' in a controlled harvest
Bob Albrecq of Gardnerville, Nev.,
prepares to shoot an alligator with
the help of Doug Miller, a guide
from Grosse Savanne Lodge, in the
marshes near Lake Charles, La.
prepares to shoot an alligator with
the help of Doug Miller, a guide
from Grosse Savanne Lodge, in the
marshes near Lake Charles, La.
Doug Miller, a guide from Grosse
Savanne Lodge, lifts an alligator he
caught in the marshes near Lake
Charles, La.
Savanne Lodge, lifts an alligator he
caught in the marshes near Lake
Charles, La.
Only a lone pole hanging over the canal and a cord disappearing into
the dark water starkly marked the spot where the alligator thrashed
sometime during the night.
Doug Miller, land manager for Sweet Lake Land and Oil Company and
Grosse Savanne Lodge south of Lake Charles, La., snatched the cord with
a rake-like pole and pulled it toward the flatboat. At the end of the rope, a
7-foot alligator in a foul mood waited for battle.
Tangled in the aquatic vegetation, the prehistoric reptile erupted from
the murk, snapping at anything it could find. Flinging vegetation and spray
mixed with the misty rain falling on this wet wilderness east of Calcasieu
Lake, the gator attempt a “death roll.” Unable to chew, alligators snap their
heads and roll repeatedly to rip prey apart with their razor teeth or destroy
enemies. The powerful tail, almost as dangerous as the jaws, whipped the
black water into froth.
Olan Menard of Grosse Savanne Lodge positioned the boat as Miller
fought the toothy beast on the line. Bob Albrecq drew his .357 magnum
revolver for the killing shot.
“Aim for the head between the eyes,” Miller told Albrecq. “Gators have
small brains and it takes a well-placed shot to kill them. Even after they die,
their nervous systems still cause them to writhe for a long time.”
Albrecq, a bush pilot who flies sportsmen into grizzly country of Alaska,
came to the marshes of Cameron Parish to experience a big game thrill not
available elsewhere. A big-game hunter with many trophies to his credit, he
shot 11 Louisiana alligators in two hours.
In more of a commercial harvest than a recreational hunt, trappers set
lines similar to catfish trotlines to catch alligators. Trappers anchor stout
hook-laden cords to immobile objects. With clothespins, they attach the
cords to long poles. They bait the hooks with chicken, fish or other meats
and suspend the baits from the poles hanging over the water. To target
larger alligators, trappers simply raise the bait higher above the water. As
gators smell the rotting meat, they jump from the water to gulp it, hooking
themselves.
The state issues about 35,000 alligator tags to landowners each year,
according to Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries sources.
Alligators average just over seven feet long, but some specimens exceed
14 feet in length. Hunters also gather eggs to give to the state. The state
incubates the eggs and returns the young alligators to the wild where they
stand a better chance of surviving than alligators hatched in the wild.
Landowners or their trappers sell hides and meat. Hide prices range
from about $12 to $22 per foot. Each year, the harvest contributes about
$10 million to the Louisiana economy.
“If someone owns land that they want to hunt, they can send in an
application with a legal description of the land,” said Ruth Esley, formerly of
Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge near Grand Chenier, La. “The kind of habitat
on a particular property determines how many tags per acre we can issue.
For one piece of property, a landowner may need 150 acres to qualify for
one tag. In another habitat type, a landowner may only need 75 acres per
tag.”
Once considered a pest destined for eradication, alligators nearly
disappeared from Louisiana by the early 1960s. Strict laws went into effect
to save these creatures that existed nearly unchanged for millions of years
and survived the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. Slowly, the primitive, yet
highly effective predators rebounded.
In 1972, the state opened a very limited season in Cameron Parish,
Esley said. The following year, the state added Vermilion Parish. In 1975,
Calcasieu Parish opened for gator harvests. By 1979, alligators recovered
to the point that the state permitted harvests in all coastal parishes. The
month-long statewide season opened in 1981.
“A few other states harvest nuisance alligators,” Esley said. “Texas has
a limited commercial season. Florida has a limited season, but has
nowhere near the scale of the Louisiana harvest.”
When the coastal harvest first opened, some trappers bagged
monsters. Some gators exceeded 14 feet long, but such leviathans seldom
appear in skinning shacks now after more than two decades of commercial
hunting.
E. A. McIlhenny of the Tabasco pepper sauce fame claimed to have
killed a 19-foot, 2-inch alligator near his home Avery Island, La., early in the
20th century. He used his gun barrel as a measuring stick to determine the
length of that monster. That length remains in dispute among alligator
biologists.
“We occasionally see a 12- or 13-footer,” Esley said. “We’ve had some
over 14 feet in the past, but those are very rare. I’ve seen one in captivity
that was over 14 feet long. Alligators have a very high natural mortality
when they are young. Eggs and small alligators are almost defenseless.
When they grow large enough, they can live 50 to 90 years so they can
reach large sizes.”
The season generally runs through the month of September. For
booking hunts with Grosse Savanne Lodge, call (337) 598-2357. On line,
see www.grossesavanne.com.
the dark water starkly marked the spot where the alligator thrashed
sometime during the night.
Doug Miller, land manager for Sweet Lake Land and Oil Company and
Grosse Savanne Lodge south of Lake Charles, La., snatched the cord with
a rake-like pole and pulled it toward the flatboat. At the end of the rope, a
7-foot alligator in a foul mood waited for battle.
Tangled in the aquatic vegetation, the prehistoric reptile erupted from
the murk, snapping at anything it could find. Flinging vegetation and spray
mixed with the misty rain falling on this wet wilderness east of Calcasieu
Lake, the gator attempt a “death roll.” Unable to chew, alligators snap their
heads and roll repeatedly to rip prey apart with their razor teeth or destroy
enemies. The powerful tail, almost as dangerous as the jaws, whipped the
black water into froth.
Olan Menard of Grosse Savanne Lodge positioned the boat as Miller
fought the toothy beast on the line. Bob Albrecq drew his .357 magnum
revolver for the killing shot.
“Aim for the head between the eyes,” Miller told Albrecq. “Gators have
small brains and it takes a well-placed shot to kill them. Even after they die,
their nervous systems still cause them to writhe for a long time.”
Albrecq, a bush pilot who flies sportsmen into grizzly country of Alaska,
came to the marshes of Cameron Parish to experience a big game thrill not
available elsewhere. A big-game hunter with many trophies to his credit, he
shot 11 Louisiana alligators in two hours.
In more of a commercial harvest than a recreational hunt, trappers set
lines similar to catfish trotlines to catch alligators. Trappers anchor stout
hook-laden cords to immobile objects. With clothespins, they attach the
cords to long poles. They bait the hooks with chicken, fish or other meats
and suspend the baits from the poles hanging over the water. To target
larger alligators, trappers simply raise the bait higher above the water. As
gators smell the rotting meat, they jump from the water to gulp it, hooking
themselves.
The state issues about 35,000 alligator tags to landowners each year,
according to Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries sources.
Alligators average just over seven feet long, but some specimens exceed
14 feet in length. Hunters also gather eggs to give to the state. The state
incubates the eggs and returns the young alligators to the wild where they
stand a better chance of surviving than alligators hatched in the wild.
Landowners or their trappers sell hides and meat. Hide prices range
from about $12 to $22 per foot. Each year, the harvest contributes about
$10 million to the Louisiana economy.
“If someone owns land that they want to hunt, they can send in an
application with a legal description of the land,” said Ruth Esley, formerly of
Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge near Grand Chenier, La. “The kind of habitat
on a particular property determines how many tags per acre we can issue.
For one piece of property, a landowner may need 150 acres to qualify for
one tag. In another habitat type, a landowner may only need 75 acres per
tag.”
Once considered a pest destined for eradication, alligators nearly
disappeared from Louisiana by the early 1960s. Strict laws went into effect
to save these creatures that existed nearly unchanged for millions of years
and survived the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. Slowly, the primitive, yet
highly effective predators rebounded.
In 1972, the state opened a very limited season in Cameron Parish,
Esley said. The following year, the state added Vermilion Parish. In 1975,
Calcasieu Parish opened for gator harvests. By 1979, alligators recovered
to the point that the state permitted harvests in all coastal parishes. The
month-long statewide season opened in 1981.
“A few other states harvest nuisance alligators,” Esley said. “Texas has
a limited commercial season. Florida has a limited season, but has
nowhere near the scale of the Louisiana harvest.”
When the coastal harvest first opened, some trappers bagged
monsters. Some gators exceeded 14 feet long, but such leviathans seldom
appear in skinning shacks now after more than two decades of commercial
hunting.
E. A. McIlhenny of the Tabasco pepper sauce fame claimed to have
killed a 19-foot, 2-inch alligator near his home Avery Island, La., early in the
20th century. He used his gun barrel as a measuring stick to determine the
length of that monster. That length remains in dispute among alligator
biologists.
“We occasionally see a 12- or 13-footer,” Esley said. “We’ve had some
over 14 feet in the past, but those are very rare. I’ve seen one in captivity
that was over 14 feet long. Alligators have a very high natural mortality
when they are young. Eggs and small alligators are almost defenseless.
When they grow large enough, they can live 50 to 90 years so they can
reach large sizes.”
The season generally runs through the month of September. For
booking hunts with Grosse Savanne Lodge, call (337) 598-2357. On line,
see www.grossesavanne.com.