LINCOLN JOURNAL (W Virginia) 14 October 10 Mud River gator shot (Jimmy Walls)

Hamlin: What started out as a beautiful, peaceful fishing trip to the Upper Mud River Dam for two Hamlin residents suddenly became exciting, last weekend.

E.J. Duty and Hamlin Councilman Rick Walls took their bass boat for some relaxing fishing on Saturday, October 9, and put it in the water at the dam facility.

They traveled along to the Left Fork region of the dam, which is up from Palermo United Methodist Church near the gun range. Duty caught the only fish of the day, a nice sized specimen.

Suddenly, there was a splash. Duty asked Walls what it was. Walls told The Lincoln Journal that he said, "I think it was a beaver, but it looked more like an alligator." Alligators would be an unusual beast for the Upper Mud River waters.

Later, they saw it leave the water and advance up the bank toward the guard rail near the road.

Duty asked Walls to go take a picture of it with his cell phone so people would believe them if it went back in the water. Duty said, "Rick took three or four pics and the alligator just laid there sunning itself."

The DNR was contacted at the Dam site. The alligator laid there for about 45 minutes before the officer arrived.

The officer duly arrived and verified the story, went back to the truck and got a high powered rifle and shot the alligator one time and put it in the back of his truck and took it away.

Walls said, "I never saw anything like this my entire life of fishing. We were just enjoying the day when this approximately six-foot alligator decided to make an appearance." When asked if he would continue fishing at the Upper Mud River Lake, Walls stated, "I survived this scare so I don`t know what could be any worse. I enjoy fishing too much to give up that easy."

Alligators are not supposed to be able to survive for any long periods of time in fresh water. The size of this alligator would make one think that someone may have taken it from the South, brought it to this area and, once it outgrew its pet stage, they needed to release it.

We probably will never know how the alligator arrived at the lake. By look ing at the size and healthy of the gator, and you can tell it is clear that it has been taking good care of itself, somehow.

Over the weekend, some have wondered if it was a female and whether it may have laid eggs that could be hatched at a later date and become a concern.
Mud River gator shot

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