Reptile & Amphibian Forums

From today's Sunday Oklahoman

(BTW, despite the reporter's statement below, Oklahoma does not share a border with Louisiana).

Warden kills big gator

An Oklahoma game warden shot and killed an 11 1 /2-foot alligator, estimated to weigh nearly 500 pounds, last month in McCurtain County.
“That’s the biggest one we’ve ever encountered,” said Dennis Maxwell, assistant chief of law enforcement for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
An Eagletown rancher had reported the alligator in a pond on his ranch. The alligator was suspected of killing some of the rancher’s calves, Maxwell said.
Alligator sightings have increased in recent years in McCurtain County, which borders Arkansas and Louisiana in southeastern Oklahoma.
Last summer, Wildlife Department employees received training on how to catch the reptiles because of the increase in sightings. Smaller alligators are trapped and transplanted under the Wildlife Department’s policy.
But this alligator was killed because it was a threat to livestock and humans, Maxwell said.

but what's really dumb is the reporter's knowledge of geography. Everyone in the sixth grade knows Louisiana is between Tennessee and Nevada.

Sheesh, what a waste of education dollars!

Bryan, I had messaged you on this forum back in Jan.2002 in regard to where I had seen alligators in mccurtain county. I also mentioned that a game ward had killed an alligator near valliant upon the request of a farmer. Here we go again. I do not understand why the wildlife dept. continues to do this.