Anderson is ‘Alligator Man’
Georgia fans are banking that the ‘Dawgs will do on Saturday what Kenny Anderson has already done—wrestle a ‘Gator!
A 9 foot, 9 inch, 250-pound alligator, to be exact.
The Mansfield resident, who owns and operates an independent trucking business, was selected as one of 3,000 individuals nationwide to participate in Georgia’s inaugural alligator hunt in September.
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Wildlife Resources Division Game Management Section, offers the hunt as the newest component to the state’s alligator management program in an effort to reduce potential nusiance problems while ensuring the conservation of the American alligator in Georgia.
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When Mr. Anderson, affectionately known as “the alligator man,” first heard about the lottery drawing for the Georgia hunt he was very excited.
“I called one of my friends at the DNR to see if a few strings could be pulled. I was told it was completely the luck of the draw.”
Well lady luck was on his side because his name was selected early in the drawing as hunter #032. Once chosen, hunters were given the option to bring along as many persons as desired with each of them purchasing a $50 alligator license.
Hunters were given the option of hunting in five zones. Mr. Anderson chose Zone 3 which included Bryan, Chatham and Liberty counties. So the “alligator man” and one buddy (several had expressed an interest but failed to make the trip) prepared the gear and set out for the Altamaha River in Jesup.
Two nights and two days on the river was enough time for the avid hunter to snag his prize. Friday night and Saturday on the river yielded little beyond spotting a lot of 4-footers, which he opted to bypass for a bigger thrill. Since hunters were allowed one alligator he was content to wait for “the one.”
And “the one” came slinking along early Sunday morning just past midnight.
“I could tell it was a keeper when I spotted it. There was about 10 inches from the eyes to the snout,” the eager hunter said.
He explained that the distance between the eyes and snout is an accurate indicator of the alligator’s size. Each inch signifies a foot in length.
Inquiring minds would be interested to know that he netted his live catch with a fishing hook, a very large fishing hook. Hunt guidelines allow captures with use of hand-held snares, harpoons, gigs, arrows or snatch hooks. Hunters are only allowed to kill the alligators with a bangstick or handgun once restrained.
“It was easier to hook than restrain. It took both of us one hour to wrestle that ‘gator.”
When all was said and done, the alligator man confessed that the eeriest part of the hunt wasn’t wrestling the alligator but rather dealing with the flying roaches and snakes.
“We would be on the river at night with the ‘gators bumping under the boat and the flying roaches everywhere. But the scariest part had to be Saturday night when a snake fell from a tree into the boat.”
In all fairness, he admitted that he was not a stranger to hunting alligator. The Macon native, who once lived in South Florida, used to hunt with a nuisance trapper in the Okeechobee Waterway. All the same, he was thrilled to have the opportunity to do it again.
Since the capture it’s been gator sausage, gator ribs, gator soup, fried gator, gator patties and anything gator one could imagine for the Anderson household. Sounds a lot like Bubba Gump shrimp, doesn’t it? The hunter admitted that his wife and daughters reached their threshold for the gator goods weeks ago.
Aside from the cuisine his catch has provided, the hunter has hopes on another delectable—alligator boots.
“I’ve checked some sites on the internet about having a pair of boots made. I can get them in every color imaginable. My wife has been talking about a pocket book.”
“But in reality this gator has cost me a lot of money already from hunting supplies to getting the hides tanned. Tanning cost about $300 and the boots and pocket book could run me up to $1,000.”
Whether the personal goods materialize or not, he plans on having the head mounted.
The alligator man professes to be a hunter of many things including wild boars and birds but not so much deer hunting anymore.
“Deer hunting doesn’t compare to alligator hunting for me. Nothing, so far, compares to the chase of an alligator. There’s a big difference in catching a prey alive rather than just killing it.”
However his next big thrill could just be around the corner in Way-cross. He’s heard of a Rattlesnake Roundup held there annually and wants to try his luck at catching the biggest snake, most snakes, or just whatever.
“I’m definitely going to that!
