Thread: Gators in Wheeler refuge

Bob D,

That was probably Stumpy. I've been told they (Redstone Arsenal) do a news article every 5 years or so about him. I believe he's around 12 feet, but should be longer (15'?) because of the end of his tail missing.

By the way, I started kayaking in coastal Georgia where I encountered dozens every trip. Gators will grow about a foot a year for the first 6 years, and then slow to only about an inch a year for the remainder of their life. This is the reason why there are so many in the 6 to 8 foot range. The 8 to 9 foot and larger gators are probably from the original reintroduction to this area. I've seen a four foot gator which is proof of at least occasional successful breeding here in Northern Alabama.

As a kid growing up on Flint Creek, we saw them occasionaly. If we ventured upriver from hickory hills we would see them come off bank as we motored upriver, like a tarzan show. I spent every warm day wade fishing, bowfishing, swimming etc. Then started towing little v bottom with Johnson 9.5 with riding lawnmower my dad had welded hitch on, down to makeshift boat ramp we made. This was in the late seventies and eighties. We were always told refuge released them to control beavers with the thinking they would not survive the winters. Don't know if any truth to that last sentence.

The thinking was that the winters would be too cold to allow them to have a successful nest......or so I read in the paper.

Just my 2 cents, but I like having them around. They may be attracted to splashing in the water and come over to investigate, but you have little to fear from them. They mostly eat turtles. I'd worry some about young kids swimming or small dogs in areas where they are, but the average angler even in a small craft like a kayak will have more issues with an aggressive Cottonmouth.

Originally Posted by Ditch Basser

Just my 2 cents, but I like having them around. They may be attracted to splashing in the water and come over to investigate, but you have little to fear from them. They mostly eat turtles. I'd worry some about young kids swimming or small dogs in areas where they are, but the average angler even in a small craft like a kayak will have more issues with an aggressive Cottonmouth.

I agree. I just want to see some for the experience. I am still a little shaken by that video I saw a month or so ago of a huge gator attacking a wild hog. People were baiting the hogs out into the water with marshmallows from a boat and the gator nabbed one! It was intense. I'm sure some of yall have seen it.

Link to a blog on gators in AL:

Gator Tales: Alligators released around Madison, Redstone Arsenal in '70s | AL.com

Originally Posted by riverboss

The thinking was that the winters would be too cold to allow them to have a successful nest......or so I read in the paper.

They nest in Arkansas , so I would think your farther south ?