{"id":10449,"date":"2017-11-13T09:45:06","date_gmt":"2017-11-13T17:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2017\/11\/13\/news-4222\/"},"modified":"2017-11-13T09:45:06","modified_gmt":"2017-11-13T17:45:06","slug":"news-4222","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2017\/11\/13\/news-4222\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Florida\u2019s Alligator Hunting Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Credit to Author: Zak Bennett| Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2017 17:00:00 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n

This story is part of OUTER LIMITS, a Motherboard series about people, technology, and going outside. Let us be your <\/i><\/b> guide<\/i><\/a>.<\/i> <\/b> <\/p>\n

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Florida\u2019s alligator hunting season starts in August and runs through early November. This year, 6,000 permits were awarded<\/a> to hunters across the state. Last year, they captured 7,145 gators.<\/p>\n

There are now around 1.3 million<\/a> alligators in Florida, and they are no longer protected as an endangered species like they were in the 1970s. Part of the hunting program is geared toward \u201cnuisance\u201d alligators<\/a>, which can appear in neighborhoods and sometimes attack people, but animal rights protestors still organize<\/a> regularly in opposition to the hunts.<\/p>\n

Alligator hunters like Matt Magner usually have tags that allow them to hunt in specific areas, like the stormwater treatment areas (STAs) of reservoirs. They use hooks and bait to get the gators, and then can choose to keep their kill or sell it for food processing, skins, or heads.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have the same instincts just like a deer and hog,\u201d said Magner, who has been hunting alligators for nine years. \u201cThey\u2019re a top predator, the only thing they\u2019re scared about are other gators. They\u2019re very intelligent.\u201d<\/p>\n

I went alligator hunting with Magner and his friends near Lake Okeechobee<\/a> as they tried to catch alligators before the end of the season.<\/p>\n

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