Photo By Martin Egnash | An adult alligator swims out of the tall grass near Marine Corps Air Station New...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. — Marines and families aren’t alone when they swim the waters of New River. Swimming just below the tide so their eyes protrude above the water, American alligators also call this area home.
The Environmental Affairs Department aboard Marine Corps Air Station New River conducted its annual alligator survey to estimate the number of alligators living in the area, Sept. 16.
“We conducted our alligator survey as part of a statewide census to monitor the alligator population in North Carolina,” said Walter Cotton, an environmental conservation officer on base, and the installation game warden. “North Carolina is the northernmost fringe of the alligator’s natural habitat.”
The survey is done at the beginning of every fall, before the alligators slow down their metabolism, and go into hiding, explained Cotton. To conduct the survey, the environmental team set out from the marina and started heading downstream.
“After we got the spotlights set up, we went down one side of the river, looking for gators,” said Cotton. “If you know what you’re doing, you can see them peak their eyes and snout above the water from a ways away.”
The team then counted, estimated the size and plotted their location on a global positioning system. This survey found 25 alligators living nearby.
“The state only requires us to count them and get what size they are,” said Cotton. “But we plot down where they’re located so the air station knows where they are.”
After the information was gathered, it was reviewed and shared with the air station, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., and the state.
“People are interested in monitoring the alligator population for a lot of reasons,” said environmental protective specialist Merrick Reid. “The biggest reason is because the American alligator was once on the brink of extinction.”
Now only on protected status, the American alligator is one of the few success stories of endangered animals, explained Reid. According to National Geographic, the American alligator species, or alligator mississippiensis, is at least 150 million years old, and has outlived the dinosaurs. They are slow on land, but extremely good swimmers. Females grow to a maximum of about 10 feet, and males grow to a maximum of about 15 feet.
“The biggest one I’ve seen around here was about 13 feet long,” said Cotton. “We just left him alone and everything turned out fine.”
As it turns out, alligators are not a threat to humans, and rarely do anything but flee once they notice a human near them, explained Cotton. Children and smaller animals like dogs, however, are at risk from alligators, said Reid. To avoid any such tragedy, they should not swim outside of designated swimming areas.
Cotton and Reid both agree that alligators are not to be fed by humans, because it would make them associate food with human beings, which is something we could all live without.
| Date Taken: | 10.04.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 10.04.2011 13:43 |
| Story ID: | 78001 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 761 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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