MICHAEL MALONE: The latest on the Alabama Alligator Hunt

Hey from Alabama! I found a 'gator! Kinda. Not really. But thanks to the traffic from your site, a fan found the story you posted at CFZ and contacted me with a photo of a 'gator his wife took in the same area I've been looking! The full story is here!

http://runwolf.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/photographic-proof/




Thanks!


The previous installments of the Alabama Alligator saga can be found here..
http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2009/06/michael-malone-my-first-gator-hunt.html

http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2009/06/michael-malone-sweet-home-alabama.html

MICHAEL MALONE: MY first `Gator hunt

Alabama alligators have been prominent on the CFZ Bloggo over the last week or so. There was the photograph of the so-called giant that turned out not to be a giant after all, and there was an article by a bloke called Michael Malone that was both witty and informative. This morning I had another e-mail from him:

I've posted my first report on my blog. Please steal and use as you will. I have pictures and everything! About five people read my blog, so steal, steal, steal; I won't even request a link!Anyway, I'm rather pleased with the first post about the first trip. Went out 'gator hunting again today but no luck. Mostly I was trying out a new kayak since going solo in a canoe is tough and it seems no one wants to go with me when I mention looking for 'gators. I have some video from today's trip and I'll send you the youtube link later, and can get you the raw file if you like. Here's the link to the first foray into 'gator hunting: http://runwolf.wordpress.com/2009/06/22/first-attempt-at-gator-hunting/

Michael - I wouldn't hear a word of it. Your blog is interesting, on-topic for what the CFZ stands for, gives us an insight into the natural history of a part of the world that I have never visited, and it makes me laugh; so, not only are there links to it on this page but I have added you to the prestigious CFZ Link-O-Tron on the right hand side. So There....

This post is about a week late. No, it’s exactly a week late. This is the story of my first attempt at hunting for the elusive North Alabama 'Gator. It took place on Sunday, 14, 2009.

As I said in a previous post, I’ve decided to track down the North Alabama 'Gator. Rumour has it that the 'gator can be found in Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge but there are few pictures available, if any; and no pictures of active nests. In fact, since the 'gator release in the 70’s, only one nest has been found and that was in 2001.

Limestone Bay at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge

So I went looking. My first attempt at finding the 'gator was to try the backwaters of Limestone Bay. I put in at Arrowhead Landing but that may not have been the best choice. Everyone claims the 'gators are in the various backwater swampy sections, so that’s where I wanted to go. Arrowhead Landing, however, is a long paddle to the backwaters over a wide bay that can be quite windy but I made it to the backwaters and explored as far as I could after the long slog.

Read on

ANOTHER ALABAMA ALLIGATOR

One of the things about the Fortean omniverse I have always found entertaining is the way that stuff always happens in batches. On the same day that I received this story
about alligators in Alabama, I also received this series of photographs and what purports to be a news story:



"The picture to the left was taken by a KTBS helicopter flying over Lake Wiess about 90 miles north of Birmingham, Alabama. The helicopter pilot and the game warden were in communication via radios; following is a transcript of their conversation:

"Air1, have you a visual on the 'gator? Over. "
"Approaching inlet now; over."
"Roger, Air1."
"'Gator sighted. Looks like it has a small animal in its mouth. Moving in; over."
"Roger, Air1."
"It's a deer!"
"Confirm, Air1! Did you say 'deer'? Over."
"Roger. A deer, in its mouth. Looks like a full-sized buck . That's a BIG 'gator! We're gonna need more men. Over."
"Roger, Air1. Can you give me a idea on size of animal? Over."
"It's big... 25 feet long...at least! Please advise; 'gator is heading to inlet... Do I pursue? Over."


That has to be a HUGE 'gator to have a whole deer in its mouth! The deer was later found to be a mature stag and was measured at 11 feet! Are you ready to go skiing on Lake Wiess ?! If you ski at the west end of the lake, try not to fall!

This alligator was found between Centre and Leesburg, Alabama, near a house! Game wardens were forced to shoot the alligator... guess he wouldn't cooperate.

Anita and Charlie Rogers could hear the bellowing in the night. Their neighbors had been telling them that they had seen a mammoth alligator in the waterway that runs behind the Rogers' house but they dismissed the stories as exaggerations. "I didn't believe it," Charles Rogers said; however, they later realized the stories were, if anything, understated. Alabama Parks and Wildlife game wardens had to shoot the beast. Joe Goff, a 6'5" tall game warden, walks past the 28-foot, 1-inch alligator (8.5 metres) he shot and killed in the Rogers' back yard.

We sent the pictures to our resident herpdude Richard Freeman who wrote back:

"The Alligator with deer in its mouth was real. The 28 foot 'gator was bad photoshop. The biggest 'gator ever recorded was 19 feet 6 inches and shot in Louisiana in 1890. The biggest in recent years was about 15 feet.
The only crocodilian reliably measured at over 28 feet was a 28 foot 4 inch Indo-pacific croc."

I would like someone with a knowledge of North American deer to take a look at the first two alligator pictures and try to give us a more reliable size estimate.

MICHAEL MALONE: Sweet Home Alabama

The bloggo is beginning to do the job that I originally intended: it is spreading the word of the CFZ's singular take on cryptozoology, animal welfare, natural history and the other stuff we do, and making contact with like minded folks across the globe. As a result, the CFZ family is expanding rapidly. Yesterday I received an e-mail from a bloke called Michael Malone: were we interested in a series of reports about the cryptozoology of Alabama and his hunt for out-of-place alligators? Well, of course we are and I told him so. Last night I came back from the pub after a convivial evening with our Texas contingent and I found this waiting for me.

I know that Michael is preparing a series of reports for us, but this initial one was too good to ignore....




I've been exploring the Flint River in Madison County, Alabama for years. It's home to several endangered species but nothing remarkable (Alabama Snail Darter; a tiny fish, for one). In the past, Big Foot sightings along the river were common but with population growth along the river, I doubt anything like a Big Foot could still be in the area.

The Alligators are all in Wheeler Lake, created by damming the Tennessee River as it passes through North Alabama. I've just started exploring the swamps in the area.

Supposedly the Alligators all come from a misguided effort to protect the species in the 70's. About 50 young 'gators were released into Wheeler Lake in an effort to control beaver populations. They were released by a well-meaning politician who didn't go through the correct channels. At least that's the story; I can not find out who released them or why. If true, and it is generally accepted as such, then the expectation was they would survive a year or two, reduce the beaver population and be captured and returned to the south or die in a harsh winter.

That didn't happen. They attempted to capture them in the 80s but didn't get them all. Best guess by the people who run the wildlife refuge is that 50+ of them may still live on the lake with another 20+ moved off the lake to other areas. None are expected to be more than four feet long.

The problem with that is there is a known Alligator, known as stumpy (see photograph), living off the refuge on a nearby army base. It's take to calling a large water impound its home and the water is artificially warmed by outflow from the base. Stumpy is nearly 10 feet long and is so named because he's missing a good portion of his tail. He crawls out onto a test range every so often and the army photographers snap his pictures. It's assumed that this large 'gator is a released pet that found a niche in which to live and is protected by the security on the base.

What haven't been found are nests or successful breeding populations. The rumors persist; far too many to just be released pets. We've had some mighty cold winters since the initial releases. What I hope to do is find and mark via GPS a few locations where the 'gators live this summer, try and find nesting areas now that the babies should have hatched and the mommies aren't going to be aggressively protecting them, then return in the fall to known sites and see how they are preparing for winter. Lots of theories but no proof.

Along the way, I'm going to keep my eyes open for other strangeness. The Flint River Big Foot supposedly migrated to Wheeler Lake and have been 'seen' swimming the Tennessee River in the recent past. I have my doubts about that; the river is quite wide and quickly flowing in the area. But hey, I'm going into places Fishermen don't go, so who knows?

Besides, on my first trip into the backwaters I'm fairly sure I saw a small (>1foot) 'gator jump off a log into the water (okay, fall off the log; 'gators aren't great jumpers) but not before I could get close enough to photograph or even confirm what I think I saw. And more importantly and fun, I got attacked by an angry mallard mama that didn't like me interrupting her evening swim with her ducklings. I didn't know ducks could swim underwater! Cool experience to learn!

Pictures are forthcoming and I'll write up my first trip soon. Thanks for your interest!