Alligator Season Now Open

By KEITH MORELLI The Tampa Tribune

Published: Aug 16, 2007

TAMPA - The prehistoric predators that lurk in the primordial Florida swamps and marshes have become the prey.

The annual alligator prowl started Wednesday and would-be, big-time game hunters who participated in a lottery earlier this year have a shot to bag and tag a gator over four staggered weeks ending in November.

And for those who lack expertise in snagging an American alligator, known as alligator mississippiensis in scholarly circles, there are plenty of licensed trappers and hunters offering services as guides.

Florida Game and Fish Commission spokesman Gary Morse said the hunt is gaining popularity, and many of those who got permits have no experience in stalking the reclusive reptile.

"They need to go out with guides," Morse said. "They need to take somebody who knows what they're doing."

Guides Are Ready

Those with permits also could have attended one of many free training classes, he said.

"People shouldn't go out there, knowing little or nothing about it," he said.

This year, 4,500 permits were issued, he said, a little more than last year because more areas have been opened up to the hunt.

Tom Hawe of Zephyrhills is a guide, although he's picky about his clientele. He has arrangements to take some buddies out this season, but really wants to take his son out on Lake Hancock in Polk County later this year.

"I'm really selective" of who I take out, he said. "I guarantee trophies. The average size is 7-foot-4, but Lake Hancock has huge gators."

He admitted he's a "small fish in a big pond" when it comes to licensed alligator hunters.

"I've been hunting alligators for five or six years," Hawe said. "My father started one of the first hunting clubs in Wisconsin, and when I came to Florida, I found that everything was different when hunting in Florida.

"When you turned over a rock," he said, "a crab crawled out instead of a worm."

Hawe, 60, came here eight years ago and his first experience with an alligator was walking down to a flood-control canal at night with a spotlight and shining it over the water.

"I saw these big eyeballs all over looking back at me," he said. "I said to myself, 'I've got to get closer to them.'"

His biggest catch was a 12-footer that weighed close to 800 pounds.

The sport sounds like it could lead to serious injuries, but "There's very little danger to it," Hawe said. "There are times when you have to move carefully. You kind of have to know what you're doing. It's a very low risk, but if you don't know what you're doing, you could be in trouble real fast.

"It's almost embarrassing for me to admit how much fun and exciting this is," he said.

Back From The Brink

Alligators have lived in the swamps and waterways of Florida long before humans and have withstood hunting and poaching for a hundred years or more. In the late 1800s, commercial harvesting first appeared, game officials said, and it was unregulated until the early 1900s.

In 1962, after the alligator population dwindled, legal alligator harvesting season was closed, but poaching took hold because of the national demand for hides.

As a result, alligators were included on the first list of endangered species in 1967 and three years later, hunting alligators illegally became a federal violation.

That did the trick, and alligator populations across the state made impressive comebacks.

The reptile was taken off the endangered list, allowing the commission to begin a wildlife management program that eventually included a hunting season.

The hunt allows harpoons, snag hooks, gigs or snares.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 865-1504 or kmorelli @tampatrib.com