Having Fun With Alligators
 

Hey guys, I haven't posted in a while. Here's a couple of recent videos I posted on YouTube. We've been doing some crabbing at Avery Island, and there's lots of small to medium size alligators in the area. We've caught a few crabs, but we've also had fun with the gators pulling on our crab lines. In the first video, we were playing a CD with alligator sounds. Before we turned it on, we saw the usual one or two gators just sort of hanging out, motionless, like they can do for hours. Within about two minutes of playing those gator calls, we had gators ALL OVER US! Like six or seven at a time in the area near the pier, with more making a bee line to the sound from way down the bayou. Apparently they recognize those sounds from a long way off. We had a lot of fun. Let me know what y'all think.

And here's the most recent one:

You might want to watch what you do with them. I was once told that it is against the law to antagonize a gator. He can mess with your line but you can't feed a gator or really mess with one. Do what you want but I would hate to see you get in trouble for just having fun.
Maybe remove the video for now, until you find out more. Just saying

We weren't feeding them, and the only reason I handled him at all was to untangle him. I think it was the right thing to do. I understand what you mean, though.

I say kill em all.....where I live we have tons of them and I just shoot em and leave em there for the turtles.

The other day I was mowing grass and there was a 5' gator standing in my drive way watching me. They getting to tame these days. I don't want one to end up snatching one of my young'ens when I ain't payin attention. So I kill em all!

What, no more comments? I figured lots of y'all would jump all over this.

Purty cool. This is alot better than people catching them on purpose while fishing WITH HOOKS. Actually had a couple do this to us while crabbing oursevles once.

Thanks! Now, don't get me wrong, we had fun with them tugging on our lines, but this is of course WITHOUT hooks. Just chicken wings and turkey necks. We figured no harm done. It was fun and we had pretty much everyone on the pier trying it.

I hear ya. There was no harm done. I spoke to a WLF agent who is a good friend of me and he said as long as you don't hurt em or kill them, they're cool.

I guess when people see videos like mine on YouTube, some of them think we must ALL live among the alligators here in Louisiana. Of course they thought that long before YouTube, or the internet itself ever existed.

I'm just wondering, have any of you ever been crabbing, castnetting shrimp, fishing from the bank or pier when someone started actually feeding alligators? I know people do it, but so far I haven't seen it. Now, some places, WAY out in the swamp or marsh away from people, it really isn't a problem. But if there's houses, camps, and especially a popular swimming area near by, it could create a truly dangerous situation if a gator grows big enough, loses it's fear of people and associates them with food. I think if I ever saw someone actually feeding them around people, camps, or pets (a small dog drinking at the edge of the water would be a tasty meal for an alligator), I'd probably be tempted to say something. I just wouldn't want to come off as a jerk about it. Any of you ever see that going on and said something about it?

yes and yes

They had a couple (Baton Rouge city slickers) in Lake Verret would hang chicken legs a camp down to feed "their" gators at night by my buddies camp and we asked them not to. One day they were outside hanging them and we were swimming and drinking (partying is more like it, last day of senior year), when I noticed about a 8-9 foot gator swimming on lazily and thought nothing of it for a second. Well, it stayed there and watched us for a couple minutes and at one point we all got out to eat, well my buddy Scott was still in the water. I turned to yell at him when I saw the gator moving closer and closer a little faster and faster when Scott started swimming to the dock, the gator swam faster. Well, we always kept a .22 mag semi auto always locked and loaded on the dock for these reasons but never had to use it. Scott got about 2 feet from that dock and the gator must have been about 5-10 feet behind him when Jordon shot him (the gator) right between the eyes. After that, the city slickers started yelling about how we killed their gator, and we calmly tried to explain how feeding them makes them lose their fear of humans, but no. We're just a bunch of teenaged a-holes who grew up on the water and don't know anything about what goes on in the swamp or in the wild. Wildlife and Fisheries got called and the city slicker husband got physical while arguing with the Game Warden, he went to jail and the Game Warden simply said y'all did the right thing, but don't let this happen again; like it was our fault.

DOs and DON'Ts for Living with Alligators


Don’t - kill, harass, molest or attempt to move alligators. State law prohibits such actions, and the potential for being bitten or injured by a provoked alligator is high.
Don’t- allow small children to play by themselves in or around water.
Don’t- swim at night or during dusk or dawn when alligators most actively feed.
Don’t- feed or entice alligators. Alligators overcome their natural shyness and become accustomed or attracted to humans when fed.
Don’t- throw fish scraps into the water or leave them on shore. Although you are not intentionally feeding alligators, the end result can be the same.
Don’t- remove any alligators from their natural habitat or accept one as a pet. It is a violation of state law to do so. Alligators do not become tame in captivity and handling even small ones may result in bites. In particular, never go near hatchling/young alligators or pick them up. They may seem cute and harmless, but the mother alligator will be nearby, and will protect her clutch for at least two years.
Do- call your local LDWF office if you encounter a nuisance gator that has lost its fear of people.
Do- closely supervise children when playing in or around water.
Do- use ordinary common sense and precautions. Swim only during daylight hours.
Do- inform others that feeding alligators creates safety problems for others who want to use the water for recreational purposes.
Do- dispose of fish scraps in garbage cans at most boat ramps or fish camps.
.
Do- enjoy viewing and photographing wild alligators from a safe distance of at least 50 feet or more. Remember that they're an important part of Louisiana's natural history, as well as an integral component of many wetland ecosystems




If you see an alligator in a roadway, yard or other unexpected place, DO NOT attempt to move it! It is not only illegal for the general public to handle or possess alligators but can also be dangerous

If you hear an alligator hiss, it's a warning that you are too close.

If you walk near the water and an alligator comes straight toward you, especially if it comes out of the water, it is definitely a nuisance alligator that needs to be reported to LDWF. In many cases, these are alligators that have lost their fear of humans. This can be caused by feeding alligators (intentionally or unintentionally) or other reasons.

http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/wildlife/alligator-hunting

I guess these people would have been dumbfounded, shocked, and horrified to witness an alligator attack on a human being. I really think some people are naive enough to think alligators can be "tamed" somehow and not really dangerous. They don't "get it".

They're we tied it.

Huh? I don't understand.

Retarded. We used to get in trouble at school for saying retarded so I came up with we tied it.

OH, I get it. They're the ones who would ride the short bus to school.

:rotfl: Like me cuz thats what the school could afford.:rotfl:

That's not why you road the short bus! ;)

Sent from my EVO

:D I knew someone would figure it out.

Ok, this thread is starting to chase a really WEIRD rabbit right now.

Thanks for the awesome video, and the great music! If this was in California(where the Fish and Game laws are just to generate revenue) this would be about a zillion dollar fine. Apparently, its OK to have laws there to fine the people for messing with wildlife, but there's no problem when some developer comes in and clear cuts the whole place, then builds a bunch of houses and names the development "Deer Run". Yeah pal, the deer ran away when you showed up with the bulldozers. I hope that never happens in Louisiana like it happened all over California...at least you can still hunt and fish here without having to drive for 4 hours or have everything posted as no trespassing.

Its happening. Slowly but shirley. Seen a couple subdivisions buy out places that I hunted on. And then the damn things went under when they couldn't sell a house.

Yeah that's great. The developers in California used to start a corporation and get the tax incentives to build, but if they don't sell the houses fast enough, their working capital runs out. Then the developer files bankruptcy for the corporation, he personally makes a ton of money from whatever he could squirrel away and lets the bank foreclose on the half finished project. Who do they think is going to move into the subdivision then, millionaires? Nobody's moving in when the project's in foreclosure, and the people who bought right away feel like they paid way too much and are way more likely to default when they borrowed $400,000 for a house valued at $270,000.

You'll never get the land back but you have a neat little run down subdivision where there used to be hunting/fishing/open space. But the municipalities green light every project as fast as they can so they can get the property tax income to help dig them out of their financial troubles....its a bad place to be if you like being outside at all.

You playing with those gators was cool but you just signed there death warrant. Now the next person crabbing there will have them coming up and eating there crab line. This is a NUISANCE gator now and will have to be removed before someone ends up hurt. If a game warden would have seen you you would gotten a expensive reminder to not mess with alligators. I'm a nuisance hunter and 3/4 of gators I removed all started as "oh look a gator. lets feed him"

Alligators, especially young ones like these, have been grabbing bait lines at this spot for years. It's not like it's in a neighborhood subdivision where someone will report it as a nuisance gator. Nor is it in a state park where people go swimming, canoeing, water skiing, etc. It's well known that there's alligators there and I'm not the first one to do this, nor will I be the last. And look, I "get it" about feeding alligators. I know it's a bad idea and yes, some people actually do feed them there. That's not what we were doing. We were crabbing, and the gators were getting at our bait anyway, so we just had fun with it. And as far as game wardens and fines, yes, I could have been fined for handling a gator. But what was I supposed to do? Leave it tangled like it was? I only pulled it up there to free it from the bait lines, get some good video up close, and let it go unharmed. I can't see anything wrong with that.

By the way, no disrespect to you. I realize what you're saying, and I get it. I'm just saying this isn't the same as around houses, camps, etc.

There isn't any harm in it. But it is the law. And the last thing I would have done is posted this on Youtube, and on a Outdoor Forum. I would have had my fun and just left it at that.

Even away from camps and houses is bad. They get a mental imprint on being fed and anytime they see a human they go to them. I've caught farm raised gator that had been released for five years and still act like they were waiting to be fed. This is out in the marsh were very few people go. They will travel quite a distance if needed so they could possible end up near someones camp.

Hey gckid, have you ever been called out to Lowery, to catch some nuisance gators at a landing down there?

nope

Saw this last week
 

Was out at Grosse Savanne pond and the fishing guide told me that they clean all the fish waaaay out at the back so its away from the lodge and wont attract other pests. The gators now listen for the rumble of a diesel engine and know they can get a free meal after dark. While he was talking about 12-15 gators swam up and were just sitting out in the pond watching us.....pretty awesome, until you realize they just are window shopping for dinner...

Once they are not afraid of humans, they will be killed.
Otherwise, they will attack sooner or later.

Well, on the up side of this, I once talked to a guy who fishes from the same pier fairly often. He said that someone does hunt alligators there, on the Avery Island side, across the bayou from the pier. He'd seen them checking lines, shooting gators, and pulling them in the boat. Must be the McIlhennys hunting that piece, because I think they own all the property on Avery Island. Anyway, while most of the gators in that immediate area are small to medium size, it seems like an excellent place to fill some tags. They probably get much bigger ones on the south and east side of the island in the marsh, in the more remote spots.

You can only hunt during the Sept. season, unless you are a state approved nuicence hunter.

I'm not a gator hunter at all. That's not what we were doing there. We were crabbing there on the pier. Apparently someone else is hunting alligators in that area, during the season. Probably the McIlhennys, since this is at Avery Island.

Well you can go and feed all the alligators you want. There is no state wide law against feeding alligators except in the parish of St. Tammany. Wildlife and Fisheries wanted a law passed a few years back but the tour boats got the legislators to beat it.

Now if one of your kids or your family members gets attacked by an alligator that you fed then you can tap yourself on the back and take the blame

I had gotten the wrong info about not feeding gators. You can feed all the gators you want anyhow it is not a good idea.

Man, what is it about my post that's so hard to understand? We were NOT feeding alligators. We were CRABBING. They were getting at our bait anyway so we had fun with it. We didn't FEED a single one. In fact, when we left, I got my bait out of the water. As I said, those gators have been grabbing crab lines there for years. I'm not the first one to have gators to pull at my crab lines, nor will I be the last. I mean, are we supposed to ban recreational crabbing? Besides, it's Avery Island. It's well known that there's LOTS of alligators there. Someone's hunting gators there too. I happen to be against feeding alligators myself. I don't mean to get all pissy about this, but your comment makes it look like I'm some sort of idiot about alligators and I'm not. I posted this just because I thought it was some cool video of us having a good time.

Having not FED a single one of these alligators (they'd just bite, pull a little and let go), I don't see how I could be blamed for any potential future alligator attack any more than the hundreds, or thousands of people over the years who go crabbing there at that pier, put bait on lines in the water, and have had alligators try to take it. I mean, this HAPPENS. And not just there, this probably happens, some time or another, at pretty much every popular inshore crabbing spot in the marshes here in south Louisiana where there's alligators. We just got it on video. Yeah, we had fun with them pulling on our lines. It's NOT the same as feeding them.

Dude, your first post 2 hours after I posted answered it plain and simple, then 3.5 hours later you come back with something else. What are trying to do? Make yourself believe something. Get over it

What are you talking about? From the beginning you suggested I was antagonizing and feeding them, and it's against the law. I said we weren't feeding them, we were crabbing and they were pulling our bait lines. We just had fun with it. Then earlier tonight, you AGAIN suggested I was feeding the gators, when you said I can feed the gators all I want, because there's no statewide law against it, but I'd be the one to blame if someone got attacked. Now you're telling me I said something different and suggested I'm trying to make myself believe something. Like what? I have to make myself believe I really didn't feed them? When did I ever say anything else other than we were NOT feeding alligators? Oh I mentioned this happens all over where people go crabbing, and that someone's hunting gators in that area, but my story hasn't changed. Either I'm not understanding you, or you're not understanding me. But I have no Idea what you're talking about.

St. Martin Parish has a law against feeding alligators. This was instituted specifically for Lake Martin, people often feed them there. I believe this is the only parish it would actually be illegal.

SwampCritter, I have had the same thing happen to me at Rockefeller on numerous occasions. Pull up the line and a gator is on it, and so have a thousand other people, unintentionally. Its not that big a deal to me. Gators in that area already associate humans with food, not because people go out there to feed them, but because there is usually a very enticing piece of bait tied to a string IN the water. (For the record I do not want to be an alligator, but let's pretend you were an alligator:p), you lay on the bank all day soaking up the sun, may go for a swim, may go try and catch something for lunch, OR you can wait until somebody puts chicken in the water. Seems a no-brainer to me

Dudes trippin bout gators man, poor guy said gators were eating his crab bait get off his arse

X2

X3

Copied this from JoshD signature! So true!

Never argue with idiots......they will drag you down to their level then beat you with experience.

x1000! Nothing wrong with it. Liked the videos.

Happened to us last year in Laccasine when we was crabbing. I can remember as a kid when you could crab of Hwy 27 in Cameron the gators taking your bait. They just like chicken. What do the people on Swamp People use? CHICKEN.

I used to crab along 27 all the time when I was young. Man, they had lots of crabs out there. Filled Ice chests up every time. Those were the days.

I understand why they won't let you anymore but it still aggravates me.