The American Alligator: A Heavyweight Hero of Environmental Writing

Ember Snook

What do you think of, when you read the word Alligator? It’s easy to think of these apex predators with a wary eye, until you realize that only fifty years ago, the American Alligators was on the brink of extinction – at our own hands, no less. A combination of overhunting and extermination pushed this predatory species (like many other predatory species living in proximity to humans) into the red zone. In 1967, the American Alligator was officially listed as an endangered creature. This was six years before the endangered creature act – underscoring how close we came to losing this key species – and yet, today, the American alligator has completely recovered.

It’s easy to think of an American Alligator as a pest and a nuisance, it is one of the few true successes brought about by carefully implemented preventative programs. It stands as a hero for those of us in Environmental writing – if we can convey the problem clearly enough, we might not only be able to save a species like the American Alligator, but bring it back to full strength… and even encourage local economy in the process!

To get an idea of how significant the loss of alligator population was, from 1880 to 1893 it is estimated that at least 2,500,000 alligators were killed for their leather or meat. This is to say nothing of those killed by human negligence, poaching, or other human-related deaths not inspired by a direct monetary gain from skinning these beautiful reptiles.

“How is this relevant?” I hear many of you asking, and I understand it’s hard to get a hold of something that happened nearly a hundred and twenty five years ago – but the truly shocking thing is that the hunting and killing of alligators was not restricted until 1960. A conservative estimate asserts that between then and now, nearly 10,000,000 alligators were killed – but a real number is strikingly hard to come across as much of this happened under the radar.

Despite the fact that it was blindingly clear by 1960 that the American alligator was vanishing, only two states (out of the nine states where the gator could be found) had passed any semblance of legislation protecting them. At this point, the Alligator had vanished almost entirely from its original range the only places with any sort of sustainable population being those few protected wildlife refuges. Even then, the ‘protective’ laws were really more of a suggestion: the state legislature of Louisiana made it illegal to kill any alligator beneath five feet long, while giving the Louisiana Wild Life and Fisheries commission the power to open and close alligator season. True enforcement would have to wait another three years, until 1963 when they finally closed the season entirely on Alligators and made it illegal to kill or harm Alligators anywhere in state. Even then, when the only people allowed to be in possession of alligator hide were licensed breeders or skin buyers who could prove they had obtained the skin from ‘out of state’, this was not nearly enough to stem the loss of Alligators. In many cases, the scarcity of alligator hide did quite the opposite: by driving the price up, the state made it a more appealing matter to hunt and trap the creature, only to pay the fine for it later.

What turned the tide, then?

The solution was as simple as it was reasonable: the fines were raised significantly, and a mandatory jail sentence for the crime of alligator poaching was enforced, which finally made hunting have a consequence. States finally began to monitor carefully the number of American Alligators in the wild, and encouraged alligator farming on the condition that some of each clutch was released into the wild.

Today, the American Alligator is up to a population of 5,000,000 – and as such stands tall as an example of what environmental science can do at its best. By researching and explaining solutions to the public and policy makers, this species is still around today, and standing strong. The American Alligator was lucky – it was and continues to be an incredibly profitable creature. Its hide and meat are sought after, and sell well – many endangered creatures cannot boast the same. As unfortunate as it is, the real prospect is that without a driving force to encourage conservation, it is hard to make it work. But this also shows that if you paint it right – if as scientists and researchers, we delve into the uses and applications of each species and can present that to the community effectively, we can and have saved them. Alligators are far from the only success story. They still have to worry about habitat loss, an understandable threat given what we know is happening in Louisiana. However, one of their other biggest threats may surprise you: Tourism.

Of course, once you get into the reasons why, it’s quite clear what is happening. Tourists are curious to see the alligators, as they are any other symbol of life here in the south, and go out searching for them. They then feed the alligators – encouraging these wild and fierce predators to lose their fear of humans, and thus making them a danger. As we all know, regardless of the reasons, any number of ‘dangerous’ wild animal will always be killed in a heartbeat before one human is endangered.

Even so, Alligators are going strong. As long as we continue to write well and present the problems in a way that even the layman can understand, there is no danger that they will go extinct, which the same cannot be said for many creatures today.

When it comes time to talk about environmental problems, remember the Alligator. Remember that things can change, that we can make a positive difference, even if that difference is only to fix a negative trend of our own cause.

Chabreck, Robert. “The American Alligator – Past, Present and Future.” Louisiana Wild Life and

            Fisheries Commission. 1967.

Fujisaki, Ikuko, et al. “Possible Generational Effects of Habitat Degradation on Alligator

            Reproduction.” Journal of Wildlife Management. 2007.

Hammonds, John. “American Alligator: Alligator Mississippiensis.” US Fish & Wildlife Service.

            2008

Koppel, Holly. “Endangered Species Report 40: American Alligator.” Wildlife Watchers. 2002