A Gator Tale

[ScottV]

Mon. morning after we got through fishing, I stopped by the office of Twitley Branch Campground at Okatibbee Res. to talk to a buddy, Randal, who works there. He told me a story I wanted to share. He said that on Sat. morning, two couples were drinking coffee outside their campers and were watching a doe walk around the campground. She walked over to the water to get a drink and a large alligator grabbed her by the head and started spinning to break her neck. He then swam off with her. They reported it to Randal and he didn't know whether to believe it or not. The following morning, Randal unlocked the front gate of the campground at 6 am and drove down to Collinsville landing to just look around. He found a deer's body, (minus the head), next to the bank. He called the game warden who showed up about an hour later. While they were looking at the dead deer, a large gator swam across the cove from the campground area and started to eat on the deer. The game warden called his boss in Jackson and he was told to "take him out". The gator was shot and he was over 10 ft long and weighed between 250 and 300 lbs..

 

[JSC]

You know I like the idea of taking him out if he is a threat (and is) ... there is too much of this "Relocating" going on ... some how they manage to get back ... Let some one enjoy the "Tail" as a meal ..

My 2 cents worth
JSC

 

[hhawkins]

Mon. morning after we got through fishing, I stopped by the office of Twitley Branch Campground at Okatibbee Res. to talk to a buddy, Randal, who works there. He told me a story I wanted to share. He said that on Sat. morning, two couples were drinking coffee outside their campers and were watching a doe walk around the campground. She walked over to the water to get a drink and a large alligator grabbed her by the head and started spinning to break her neck. He then swam off with her. They reported it to Randal and he didn't know whether to believe it or not. The following morning, Randal unlocked the front gate of the campground at 6 am and drove down to Collinsville landing to just look around. He found a deer's body, (minus the head), next to the bank. He called the game warden who showed up about an hour later. While they were looking at the dead deer, a large gator swam across the cove from the campground area and started to eat on the deer. The game warden called his boss in Jackson and he was told to "take him out". The gator was shot and he was over 10 ft long and weighed between 250 and 300 lbs..

Gators have a homing instinct. No matter how far you relocate them, a gator will always find his way back. Once a gator reaches a certain length they have to be killed because their size and cause of danger. A gator can jump his body length. I hope they didn't waste him, gator meat is good eatten!

 

[ScottV]

This gator had lost his fear of humans. There had been reports of a large gator coming out of the water after small dogs that people were walking in the campground. I guess this one won't be bothering folks anymore.