Journal Entry #4: 3/13 Fort Worth Nature Center

   Journal Entry #4

3/13 Trip to Fort Worth Nature Center 

Today was an eventful day at the nature center. I originally came in expecting to cut more privet, but that quickly changed when I learned we had the opportunity to go alligator catching. Naturally, this sparked a lot of questions in my mind, like: How big are these alligators? Why do they need to catch one? How do you even catch an alligator? And so on. After loading up into trucks, we arrived at a pond where we could immediately spot the heads of a couple of gators in the water.

We had the chance to walk around the pond, spotting several alligators, as well as other animals like birds and turtles. During this time, some of the FWNC workers had successfully hooked an alligator, and the process of pulling it out of the water began. I learned that the reason they catch alligators is to monitor the population in the area. They catch the alligator, weigh it, measure it, and tag it to better understand the population dynamics. I also discovered that alligators come in various sizes, and for the larger ones, they have special traps.

When I found out the alligator they had hooked was 10 feet long, the process of getting it out of the water became more daunting. Another person joined in to help hook the gator, and together, they started dragging it to the shore. 

Next, they managed to loop a rope around the alligator's head and attached it to one of the trucks to help pull it out of the water.

Once the alligator was on land, they made sure its mouth was securely tied before jumping on it to subdue it. This was necessary to safely take measurements. We even got the chance to sit on the alligator while they worked.

After measuring, it was time to weigh the gator. They placed it on a ladder to lift it and load it into the truck bed.

Then, they drove it to a tree where they could hang the alligator from the ladder to get an accurate weight.

Once the weighing process was complete, it was time to release the alligator back into the water. Typically, they would tag the gator at this point, but this one had already been tagged during a previous capture.

Overall, I never imagined I’d have the chance to witness an alligator being caught, and I’m incredibly grateful for the experience. The confidence and expertise of the staff were fascinating, and it gave me a whole new perspective on the work being done at the Fort Worth Nature Center, especially in terms of understanding wildlife populations.