Some Scumbag just HAD to do it.

[Lancer6]

For the last couple of years there were rumors of this critter dwelling in the little jewel called Boerne (ber-knee; German) City Lake, a short drive NNW of San Antonio.
Some of us tried to spot him on occasion, without success, but I finally saw photo evidence, shown me by the local Game Warden a few months ago.
Well, as I might have predicted, some jerk (the same kind of ignorant AH that sez "The only good snake is a dead snake!") has done the critter in.

http://www.boernestar.com/articles/2...ews/news01.txt

I hope the guilty party is caught, tried, convicted, and made into purses, shoes, and luggage.

L6

[WTL]

I would have thought yall had gators in San Antonio; but anyways, if it means so much to Boerne they should just procure themselves another gator and let it go.

[Lancer6]

Originally Posted by WTL

I would have thought yall had gators in San Antonio; but anyways, if it means so much to Boerne they should just procure themselves another gator and let it go.

DubyaTee,

Alligators are native to the area and are found in the San Antonio Reever. Not in the famed RiverWalk portion, but south of the city.
Choke Canyon Lake, BTW, marks the westernmost NATURAL range of the American Alligator and they well represented there.
I seriously doubt the deceased 'gator was a native of the lake. The lake was formed by damming a small creek...the Cibolo (Buffalo een Spaneesh) and thus it's not likely he was a hometown guy; Most likely tossed in by someone who felt he was growing too large to keep at home.
I suppose there were risks with him present. There are swimmers in the lake during suitable weather and there's a nice 'hood on the private side that maintains a large floating dock where kids play and from which folks let their dogs swim, most notably a small mutt owned by one Mrs. D.B.Pillsbury.
(She occasionally swims with him, but her hemorrhoids and chronic yeast infec...never mind.)
As he grew the risks would have increased.
Frankly, I wish the TPWD had trapped and relocated him.
RIP.

L6

[vagabond]

I don't think there's anything wrong with it. You said you doubt it was native. It maybe should have been relocated but it hadn't been done it in the past two years so somebody took it upon themselves to fix the situation.

I know it sounds mean but I've seen too many lakes destroyed because some idiot decides to introduce a non-native species to the lake. I hate it when they have to kill off an entire lake to rid a spreading problem.

I've never heard of a lake needing to be poisoned because of alligators, but in general I'm not a fan of introducing new fish or plants to any body of water aside from a private lake or pond.

[Lancer6]

The animal WAS within it's geographic natural range. It had not and would not have upset the natural balance of the immediate ecosystem. It MIGHT have upset the human invaders thereof...so what? If the REAL experts of the TPWD had felt he was misplaced they would have removed him long ago. Finally, the killing was the act of some bozo who probably kills every snake he sees. Said bozo will, sooner or later, be caught because his type cannot resist the need to boast of his "bravery", especially after a few beers.
I can promise you that the guilty poltroon was NOT motivated by noble concerns.
In fact, should I buy a few rounds of beers at one of the drinkeries in Boerne, I can likely ferret him out on my own. I just might do that.
No excuses.

L6

[Jim80]

Even in areas that have larger gator populations they almost always catch and relocate them . by the size of that gator it could have been relocated without a problem it was really uncalled for for somebody to kill it since it had never attacked anybody and was rarely seen

[BigBassin144]

If it had been in there for 2 and half yaers (spotted in 2005) or more, and hasn't done any harm, I see no need to harm it. when they catch the guy who did it, they should throw him in a cage with a bunch of aligators.

BB

[zooker]

a 6 foot gater that only weighs 60 pounds?? dout it.. thats a skinny gator..

zooker

[Lancer6]

Originally Posted by zooker

a 6 foot gater that only weighs 60 pounds?? dout it.. thats a skinny gator..

zooker

That's the stats as given by the authorities. Of course, there may have been weight loss post-mortem, not inconceivable given the heat and time elapsed prior to discovery.

[Bob Smith]

A couple of years ago on Lake Lewisville (just on the north side of Dallas, TX. Someone killed a 14' alligator and tied the dead body to a tree in the middle of the lake. It was seen up in one the more affluent areas and reported to have eaten a couple of small dogs. It was kind of sad since there were no other gators seen in the area and that old feller was forced out of what was once pretty much a wild and undeveloped area. I am sure we will hear more and more stories like this as the lakes become more an urban paradise for those who can afford to build big fine homes on the lake.

[Nitro911]

There was another gator in a South San Antonio neighborhood pond a year or so back that TPW decided to relocate. I guess they didn't have much choice when he wound up on the highway. The video of the police officers jumping back when the gator attacked the cars was pretty funny.

There are gators all up and down the San Antonio river and on the farm properties adjacent to it. I fished in 2 tanks this past Sunday where I was watched pretty closely by the resident gators. They didn't bother me any, but let me tell you that every time a frog jumped in front of me in tall grass it gave me a start.