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Wayward Gator Ends Up Swimming With The Whales

GA Whale watching researchers conducting North Atlantic right whale work spotted the alligator on March 9...

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BRUNSWICK, Ga. --(AmmoLand.com)- What may have begun for a Georgia alligator as a day of sunning on the banks of the marsh ended with the approximately 5-foot long reptile nearly 20 miles out to sea, drifting in an area usually roamed by right whales, sea turtles and other marine life.

Heavy rains that washed marsh wrack and other debris miles into the sea from the mouth of the Altamaha River may be to blame for the bizarre event.

Researchers conducting North Atlantic right whale work spotted the alligator on March 9. At first, whale observers Monica Zani and Heather Foley thought the animal was debris, a partially submerged tire or possibly a dead alligator washed out to sea. After getting closer, they realized the gator was very much alive and still able to dive for short distances.

Foley snapped a few photographs before the team moved on. “Considering that we were an in inflatable boat 20 miles offshore, we didn’t want to risk having the gator inadvertently puncture the boat,” Foley said.

Not long after the encounter, the research crew came across a rip-line of marsh wrack, pollen and other debris, most likely at the edge of a freshwater plume coming from the Altamaha River after recent rains. Wrack is an accumulation of dead marsh grass.

Generally freshwater creatures by nature, alligators are fairly common in and around salt and estuarine waters along the Georgia coast, said Brad Winn, program manager for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Nongame Conservation Section.

“They feed heavily on marine fish, raccoons and feral hogs in the marshes, and swimming in the surf is not an unusual observation,” Winn said. “On more than one occasion we have pulled stingray barbs out of the cheeks of 12-foot males.”

What is unusual, according to Winn, is the distance the alligator was found from shore. It is likely this gator swam into the Altamaha after a day of sunning and was swept out to sea by unseasonably cold water after recent heavy rains.

Too chilled to fight the waters that carried it, the alligator ended up farther out at sea than what is considered normal.

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Help Reverse Slide In Tax Checkoff Funding For Georgia Wildlife

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SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. --(AmmoLand.com)- A convenient but critical way to support Georgia’s wildlife needs your help this tax season.

State income tax checkoff contributions to the Georgia Wildlife Conservation Fund have declined in recent years. While not an all-time low, contributions for the most recent fiscal year fell another 20 percent, or nearly $60,000 from the previous year.

Yet, the checkoff is a key fundraiser for the Wildlife Conservation Fund. The fund is administered by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Non-game Conservation Section and dedicated to the conservation of non-game and endangered animals and plants statewide.

The Non-game Conservation Section receives no state funding for its mission to conserve non-game wildlife. Non-game includes native Georgia animals not legally hunted, fished for or trapped, as well as native plants, from sea turtles to songbirds and pitcher plants.

Jon Ambrose, assistant chief of the Non-game Conservation Section, said the Wildlife Conservation Fund is also used to attract federal and private research and conservation funding to Georgia. By using the fund as match, DNR gained $1 for every 25 cents spent from the fund over the past two years. The Nongame Conservation Section has averaged about $1.5 million a year in federal State Wildlife Grants over the past decade, Ambrose said.

The checkoff “is critical in terms of providing the match we need to get this funding from other sources,” he said.

The Give Wildlife a Chance checkoff has been a success since its creation in 1989. Thanks to the generosity of Georgians, more than $6 million has been raised. Contributions played a part in many conservation achievements, varying from the restoration of bald eagle populations to land acquisitions such as the prized Silver Lake Wildlife Management Area near Bainbridge.

That success story can continue with the help of conservation-minded Georgians.

This year, even in the midst of a recession, citizens can reverse the decline in checkoff contributions by filling in any amount more than $1 on line 27 of the state’s long tax form (Form 500) or line 10 of the short form (Form 500EZ). Contributions can be deducted from refunds or added to payments.

For more information, go to www.georgiawildlife.com/node/338, or call Nongame Conservation Section offices in Social Circle (770-761-3035), Forsyth (478-994-1438) or Brunswick (912-264-7218). State income tax forms are available online at https://etax.dor.ga.gov/.

The Nongame Conservation Section also benefits from sales of the bald eagle and ruby-throated hummingbird license plates, an annual fundraiser called Weekend for Wildlife, and donations. Details at www.georgiawildlife.com.

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