Alligator Hunting - Really!

What can I say? Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Here is a portion of an article from the local paper last week.

Be careful when you’re around them.

An alligator can still “get you” even when they’re dead.

With that cautionary note from DNR alligator agent Dennis Matherly on Saturday, more than 1,200 excited people can get ready to take to the public waters of South Carolina for the annual alligator hunt.

The season opens Sept. 11 and closes a month later, with each licensed hunter allowed to capture one alligator.

And don’t think the sport isn’t popular in the Palmetto State. The number of permits sought by enthusiasts and granted by the state has grown each year since it became legal two years ago.

“Alligator hunting is like fishing and (land) hunting at the same time,” said Mary Pernell of Summerville, who is both an alligator hunter and taxidermist in the Lowcountry. “We have a bunch of alligators, and they need management, just like deer or other species.

“I don’t think it’s barbaric at all,” the 48-year-old said. She and her husband snagged their first alligator last year in Goose Creek Plantation — a 91/2-foot reptile with a head and jaws the size of … well, big. Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2010/08/22/1428169/sc-getting-ready-for-gator-season.html#ixzz10t3KdX5c

Hmmm Goose Creek, that's my neighborhood. Guess I'd better go get me a gator!