BILOXI SUN HERALD (Mississippi) 26 March 04 Bill would designate alligator as state reptile (Emily Wagster Pettus)
Jackson, Mississippi (AP): Mississippi would get a razor-toothed mascot under a bill filed in the state Senate.
The measure - sponsored by Republican Sens. Tommy Moffatt of Gautier and Tommy Robertson of Moss Point - would designate the American alligator as the official state reptile.
"I love alligators," said another coast lawmaker, Sen. Deborah Dawkins, D-Pass Christian.
Mississippi already has several official symbols. The mockingbird is the state bird. Petrified wood is the state stone. The teddy bear is the state toy.
The alligator bill died earlier this month when it wasn't considered before a deadline. On Friday, the Senate voted to revive the bill to give it another chance.
The House still needs to give at least two-thirds approval so the bill can come back to life.
Libby Hartfield, director of the Mississippi Natural Science Museum in Jackson, said she didn't know about the alligator bill until Friday, but she supports giving the reptile official status.
"It's certainly an important animal in Mississippi because it's such a water state," Hartfield said. "The alligator a primary predator in wetlands. They control disease and all kinds of things."
An alligator terrarium is among the museum's most popular displays, Hartfield said.
Though consideration of a reptile bill would take only a few moments in each chamber, Sen. Gloria Williamson, D-Philadelphia, said lawmakers shouldn't waste their time.
"It's ridiculous," Williamson said. "We have education to save."
The bill says alligators help the ecology.
"During droughts, they dig holes, or dens, which provide water for the wildlife community," the bill says. "The alligators construct these 'gator holes' with their large sweeping tails that retain water during periods of drought. This provides water and foraging space for many other species, such as wading birds."
Sen. Gray Tollison, D-Oxford, said he's a bigger fan of snakes than gators.
"I like the eastern diamondback rattler," Tollison said. "The alligator? That's more associated with Florida."
Bill would designate alligator as state reptile