WSAV (Savannah, Georgia) 18 September 07 Lowcountry gator deemed dangerous
They've crossed major highways, waited at front doors, and now one has caused the most tragic recorded injury of its kind in South Carolina. We're talking alligators and they aren't hard to find in the Lowcountry. One gator we found in Bluffton seemed to be a threat so NEWS 3 called the experts to check it out. Children play real close by and neighbors walk their pets right by this lagoon all the time. So, after we called them, Hilton Head's Critter Management team drove right over for an evaluation to see if the nearly seven foot gator was a danger to the neighborhood. And, turned out, it was not time wasted.
Joe Maffo could probably do the job in his sleep.
“It doesn’t appear that she’s been fed,” Maffo said, checking out the Bluffton gator.
This made evaluation number who-knows-what for a gator lurking in a Lowcountry lagoon.
"She's a non-aggressive alligator. She retreated,” he said.
Now that so much wildlife habitat has turned into gated community,
“We put a house where they used to run,” he said.
Joe Maffo can keep himself busy solely on house calls.
"Bye gator, be good,” he said as he started to leave.
But even after 13 years of this,
"She's retreating- oh no- she's headed this way. Look at this,” he yelled.
They can still fool him.
"That gator's not acting right. That's gator's been fed,” he said.
A change in attitude means a change in schedule for Joe.
"Buddy, this thing's three feet from the ground and just sitting here staring at me,” he said to his co-worker by phone.
The gator was indeed a danger, so extra help arrived fast.
For the guys who have dreams of one day running an alligator farm, this is no doubt dirty work for them.
“Give her some slack,” assistant Mark Stever said.
Although there was some struggle getting her out, luckily this one didn’t put up too hard of a fight.
The way this all ends is surely a saddening sight for any animal lover, but a relief to those who didn’t realize what could have been.
"We can't have this in a neighborhood. If that had been a child we would have had an incident,” he said.
There's some sort of thrill or excitement we get from seeing alligators, but you need to use common sense when you're around them. Never feed them, harass them, or bring your children or pets near them. And if you’re concerned about one, it doesn't hurt to get it checked out.
Lowcountry gator deemed dangerous