By Paul Zoeller
Summerville Journal Scene
paul.zoeller@mac.com
After
40 years, the alligators are in season again. From Sept. 13 to Oct.
11 hunters from as far away as Utah gathered for a chance to hunt alligators.
The S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued 1,000 permits
this season for the chance to kill an alligator. According to the DNR
site the state currently has more than 100,000 alligators. Doing the
math, that means more than 99,000 will be left. The hunt is not doing
much for population control but it will give 1,000 hunters the ability
for some tall tales.
Ron Russell, alligator guide, uses a spotlight to
find alligators along the banks of the Cooper River as hunter Jeff Bannister,
of Greenville, watches and waits.
Now,
I am no hunter nor have I ever killed anything other than your average
cockroach (or Palmetto Bug according to South Carolinians). When my
family hunted deer, I fell asleep in my blind. On fishing trips, I opted
for the beach rather than a day wading in water fearful of stepping
on a sting ray. Suffice to say I am not patient enough to hunt.
Given the chance though I definitely wanted to go on an alligator
hunt. Why? When I went deer hunting, the deer didn't bite back! Can't
get much more exciting than that.
Only after sun goes down is it possible to spot alligators.
Hunters use search lights which reflect red glow from the alligator's
eyes.
I contacted Ron Russell of Gator Getters Consultants and asked to
tag along on a hunt. Russell has been capturing gators for years going
out on nuisance calls and educating the public on alligator safety.
He set me up with Jeff Bannister, of Greenville, who received his
hunter's permit through the computerized draw, and the three of us
set out to find alligators on the Cooper River at dusk.
Little known fact to me at the time, alligator hunting is conducted
at night. The best way to find one of these creatures is to shine
a light and look for glowing red eyes. Kind of creepy, even more so
when you realize how many of these guys live in the rivers we occupy
every weekend.
Ron Russell calls out to surrounding alligators using
a sound mimicking a female.
After checking my life insurance policy, I slipped on the steel-toe
boots and headed out. For some strange reason I threw my leatherman
knife into my bag like is was going to offer some sort of protection
against an alligator. I joked with friends that a miracle might take
place on the river because if an alligator came after me there would
be walking on water.
Soon after dusk, Russell stopped the boat and started making female
alligator sounds. I can't make the sound myself but can download it
from iTunes. No joke, its right there next to the new Metallica album.
Russell sets a crossbow which will be used by Bannister
to catch the alligator.
What seemed like an empty river came alive after dark. Russell pointed
out multiple gators in one spot just scanning the river banks with
a spotlight.
Some were afraid or bothered by the light and would sink into the
water. Others would let you pull right up next to them. At one point
I could have reached out and touched a gator I was photographing.
Russell explained that the alligators feel safe under the water and
think you can't see them so they remain still.
An alligator sits just below the water surface.
I grew up around boats and loved being on the water.
Watching the sunset on the water was peaceful. The sight of ducks flying
overhead, historic plantations lining the banks and the sounds of frogs
filled the evening air. As Bannister exclaimed, nights like this lower
the blood pressure.
Jeff Bannister scans the river banks for the red
glowing eyes of alligators.
For the next couple of hours they followed the same scenario of using
lights and pulling up beside the gators to see how big they were. Russell
would guide the boat and Bannister stood ready with a cross bow. I had
fun shooting off the back of the boat at the moon. If you look hard
enough stars can be seen through the clouds. Don't ask me how I have
stars in my photo off the back of a moving boat. Not much light pollution
out on the water.
For the nature enthusiast, there is more to the river
than alligator hunting. A view after sunset from the back of the boat.
As the night wore on, the expectation levels dropped on the size
of the gator. What once was a hunt for a 13-foot alligator now had
been lowered to anything bigger than six feet. It gets cold on that
water at about 1 a.m. When it gets that cold steam rises off the water
and coats everything including my camera gear.
After using a harpoon, Bannister holds the line as Russell uses a hook to bring the alligator to the surface.
After
navigating a couple of coves, Russell maneuvered the boat through a
rice field and found a gator buried in the grass under water. After
some discussion on the size of the gator a spear was pulled out. At
this point I was getting a bit nervous. It was all fun and games up
to this point in time but now we were about to add another party to
our cozy boat. This guest had more teeth than all of us combined and
was not afraid to use them.
After the alligator is killed the mouth is taped
to make sure the teeth don't get a hold of anything.
I had one job, when the gator is speared, turn on all the lights
on the boat. I was probably just as excited as the others at this
point. And then as soon as it began, it was over. The gator gave little
resistance and was killed within minutes of being speared. The mouth
was taped, the legs tied, the hunting tag applied and it was finished.
All the anxiety, all the sleepless nights dreaming of wrestling the
beast with my bare hands and any other visions my imagination could
create leading up to this point; it was so simple. Don't get me wrong,
I wouldn't suggest taking alligator hunting lightly, it just seemed
so easy with an experienced guide.
Bannister smokes a cigar after getting his first
alligator.
After the catch, Bannister said this was the first gator he had killed
and was wanting to make a belt and watch band from the skin. He said
the meat was good eating and was given tips on storing the processed
gator once he got home. It was almost too obvious to ask, does it
taste like chicken?
Bannister and Russell lit a cigar and we hunkered down for the cold
ride back to the docks.
Jeff Bannister lays out his alligator to get a measurement after loading the boat on a trailer. The alligator measured just over 7 ft.
After a long night watching them, I came away with an admiration for the alligator. A very crafty creature that is really only threatened by other alligators and humans. Makes sense that they are so tough considering they have survived since the time of the dinosaur.
