Gator Aid

For 16 years, Florida protected alligators from hunters as an endangered species. The reptiles have multiplied mightily, increasing their numbers to an estimated half a million today. But the state's human population also has been expanding rapidly, and contractors have been filling in swamps and marshes for real estate developments. The result: the once endangered species became an endangering one, venturing onto golf courses and into backyard swimming pools. Last year there were twelve unprovoked attacks by gators on humans. One victim, a man who had been cleaning weeds from his dock, died.

Now the reclassification of gators as a threatened species has enabled Florida to hire trappers to thin them out in areas where they are causing serious problems. Even some conservationists support the trappers. Says Johnny Jones, executive director of the Florida Wildlife Association: "There are so many alligators that they are eating each other."

One of the first victims of the new program was a 12-ft. gator that had become a favorite of schoolchildren in Green Cove Springs. Aghast officials called in a trapper after learning that the kids were serving up poodles and other neighborhood pets to their friend as snacks. Says Wildlife Biologist Tommy Hines: "He was not afraid of anybody. Every time somebody came up to him, he thought it was time for dinner."

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