May 01, 2012
By Jeff Weakley
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had a couple of interesting "gator bites" on the Law Enforcement hot sheet.Officer Tracy Bontrager responded to information regarding a subject who had shot and killed an alligator. Officer Bontrager located the suspect and during an interview, the individual stated that he was out walking his dog when he saw an alligator in his front yard. The subject said he went inside his house to secure his dog and retrieved a 38 caliber handgun. The subject admitted he shot the alligator once, but the alligator continued to walk away. He said he shot the alligator a second time and it continued to walk away, so he shot the alligator a third time. The subject said he was unsure if the alligator was dead or not, so he contacted the authorities. Charges will be direct-filed with the State Attorney's Office for taking an alligator without a permit. Officer Tracy Bontrager responded to a complaint regarding four juveniles who killed an alligator. With assistance from the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Officer Bontrager and local deputies located and interviewed the suspects, who admitted they had entered the Tenoroc Fish Management Area to kill an alligator that one of the subjects had been watching for several days. The individuals located the alligator, captured it and tied its mouth shut, then killed it with a claw hammer. As they were dragging the alligator out of the management area, they were observed by a hiker who contacted authorities. The subjects were released to their parents and charges will be direct-filed with the State Attorney's Office for taking an alligator without a permit and petty theft, which occurred when the subjects failed to pay the required daily use fee. print issue of Florida Sportsman Magazine, now on newsstands. We have an article explaining the details behind the lawful alligator hunting season, for which permits will soon be available at www.myfwc/hunting .
