using head lights to find lurking gators.
On an unnaturally balmy October evening Kraig Kemp and his son Kasey took me on an alligator hunting expedition off of the St. John’s River at Lake Harney in Sanford. Mr. Kemp and his son are seasoned hunters as this was their third year hunting gators. They have also hunted boar, whitetail deer, coyotes, snipes, doves, crows, bobcats, turkeys, rabbits, rattlesnakes, geese, beavers, badgers, elk, bear, mule deer, and prairie dogs. So, I felt like I was in good hands as they led me on my very first hunt of any kind. When they offered to take me along I leapt at the opportunity. There is something particularly interesting about hunting a creature that can easily overtake and consume anything that it desires. It creates a sense of heightened exhilaration. In an unnatural role reversal man enters this foreign territory, and stalks the black, slow flowing waters. Armed with the necessities for an alligator safari: a bang stick, a detachable harpoon, a three pronged snatch hook, buoys, and ripened nearly rotting whole chickens. We were ready.
harpoon
three pronged snatch hook
As soon as we entered the water we spotted 3 gators. It’s hard to imagine that alligators were once members of the endangered species list, because now they seem to be everywhere. Finding an alligator is simple. A beam of light is used to expose the alligator’s location. Glowing like beady embers floating on the waters surface.
Very ripe whole chickens stuffed with Styrofoam to make them buoyant were used as bait. Beef lung is another popular choice among these hunters, but wasn’t used on this night. Once the alligator took the bait, we waited for it to swallow. Mason line on a swivel spool is used to keep the hunters attached to the buoy that is attached to the bait. They then slowly took in the twine and brought the boat closer to the gator. As we rounded the bend we noticed that of the 3 baits dropped only one was submerged and the attached buoy was bobbing away from land to deeper water. Kraig used the snatch hook, and on his only second try snared the alligator. The alligator thrashed violently and spun around in the water doing the dangerous death roll. As it was rolling it slapped against the boat rocking us precariously about. On one side of the 12 foot boat was Kraig, his son, and a 7’5” 200 lb fighting alligator. I did my part by staying on the other side acting as a counter weight while taking pictures.
When the alligator was brought to the surface of the water the bang stick was placed at the base of the skull. A precise aim is needed as these animals have a brain the size of a walnut. Thousands of bubbles came from the creature as the last of the oxygen left its body. “That’s a good sign!” Kraig explained as he struggled. The mouth was then wrapped up with generous amounts of electrician’s tape. Only then was the beast brought into the boat. Then a long metal rod was used to pierce the brain. The last measure taken to immobilize the alligator was to sever the spinal cord. These are steps recommended by the Alligator Management Program Division of Hunting and Game Management Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Within minutes of immobilizing the alligator, Mr. Kemp tagged the alligator’s tail following the strict state mandated guidelines. Alligators have a tendency of appearing dead when they are only temporarily unconscious. This creates a dangerous situation. Hit with the powerful tail, bitten, or going overboard into a body of water filled with other hungry alligators all become possibilities when an angry gator “comes to” in the boat. Even after these measures were taken, it’s tail ominously moved back and forth, and it’s legs continued to be animated the entire boat ride back to land.
Once landed, the alligator was taken to a local processor to be skinned. Only the skin from the underside is used. The individual skinning the animal buys the pelt, and returns the head and meat to the hunters. Not long ago alligator hunting was profitable, but the industry has been crippled by the economy. Now, a hunter is lucky to come out even, and many hunters like the Kemps continue purely because they enjoy the sport.
Each hunter enters into a raffle to get 2 tags allowing them to bag 2 alligators during the season in a designated area. About 6,000 Alligator harvest permits were available in the 2009 season, and cost $271.50 each for Florida residents. The season runs for 11 consecutive weeks, going from August 15th through November 1st. The Alligator hunting program is highly monitored, and well maintained by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Tags: alligator, beacon, deland, gator, hunting, lake harney, osteen, sanford
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