Large jaws with 80 teeth help them capture and kill their prey.Īmerican alligators make their home in freshwater swamps, marshes, rivers, lakes and streams. Their tales usually measure at least half of their body length and are laterally flattened, which helps propel them through the water. This could be a startling site under normal circumstances, but not when you are on a gator hunt.Īlligators have special valves that close their ears and nostrils when they’re submerged, allowing them to remain underwater for 45 to 60 minutes. Their eyes, ears and nostrils are located on top of their broad head, so they can use them without completely submerging under the water. They have five toes joined by webbing at the base of their front legs and four webbed toes on each of their back legs. As most people know, alligators are covered with large horny plates, which protect them from predators and other alligators. One of the largest reptiles in the world, male alligators can grow to 19 feet long and weigh over 1000 pounds. For this reason, regulated gator hunting has been implemented on a small scale to help control the population and better manage this unique reptile. In 1987, it was removed from the Endangered Species list, but remains federally protected.”Īlabama’s population has increased by leaps and bounds to the point that they pose a nuisance in many areas of the state. After two decades of protection, the alligator was able to rebound. Fish & Wildlife Service placed the American alligator on the Endangered Species List. Other states followed the lead and in 1967, the U.S. “The alligator was threatened with extinction, so in 1938, Alabama took action and became the first state to protect them. “The American alligator was once on the endangered species list do to unregulated alligator harvest throughout the South in the 1920s, 30s and 40s,” Gauldin says. Using bait with hooks is not allowed.Īlthough gator hunting in portions of the state is legal, that was once not the case. Capture methods are restricted to hand-held snares, snatch hooks hand-held or rod/reel, harpoons with attached line, and bowfishing equipment with line attached from arrow to bow.
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