Petite woman who bagged monster alligator defends trophy hunt

[lewisipso]

Now, it seems, the hunter has become the hunted.

Maryellen Mara-Christian last week caught and killed what some might perceive to be a genuine monster: an American alligator measuring more than 13 feet and weighing more than 1,000 pounds.

Her story, which played out over two chaotic hours on Lake Moultrie in South Carolina, made national headlines and morning and evening news shows. They found it remarkable that a woman who stands just 5 feet 5 and weighs only 120 pounds could wrangle such a mammoth beast.

Afterward, however, some people became outraged by the methods used to dispatch the great reptile: baited fishing lines, followed by harpoons, a muzzle snare, shots from a .22-caliber weapon and, ultimately, a knife jab to the spinal cord.

"This woman should be in jail, not on TV," was among the tamer comments posted beneath a story on Carolinalive.com.

"They tortured that alligator for hours. That's just plain sick," a Bostonherald.com reader chimed in.

The hunter, who is from Massachusetts and received help from her husband and a guide, defended her actions and correctly stated that hunting of gators is legal in South Carolina and a limited seasonal hunt is how the state's wildlife agency keeps their numbers in check.

Petite woman who bagged monster alligator defends trophy hunt


I'm not a hunter but I understand the concept. That being said....Do the complainers believe the gator was just going to surrender peacefully?

[lewisipso]

If you don't take measures to handle the population calls like this have to be answered.



And that is a small one. Can you imagine finding one 13ft long and a thousand pounds under your carport?

[moggsp98]

OK, first off, I am NOT anti-hunting. I used to hunt when I was younger and I just choose not to now. That said, I understand the use of baited hooks and the use of a firearm to dispatch the animal once it was caught. I even understand the 2 hour battle. Where I think the outrage stems from is the use of all the other things that make it SOUND like they just tortured the beast. Most states don't let you hunt deer with a .22 because it has no stopping power so why would a guide use it to kill a 1000 pound gator? Why would they have to use a snare, harpoon and then sever the spine with a knife? Sounds to me like the guide likes to learn a better way to do his job. He should know that a .22 is totally inadequate for the job.

What alot of hunters/sportsmen dont realize is that it is stories like this that fuel the anti-hunting debate. If they want to preserve the ability to engage in thier sport, then they need to be aware of how they present themselves to the public knowing that there are non-hunters that are going to read these stories.

Sorry for the soapbox!

[lewisipso]

No problem. I am no expert but a .22 seems to be the favorite weapon. I would imagine that the reason behind that use is to preserve the head for a trophy. I am guessing however.
I'm still looking but here's what popped up so far.

Sherpa Guides | Georgia | The Okefenokee Swamp | Gator Hunter: Cecil Carter
On his alligator expeditions, Carter used a .22 rifle, shooting gators in the soft spot behind their eyes. He didn't bring the meat out of the swamp, unless it was a really nice piece, because the weather was hot and he didn't take ice in the boat. He killed and skinned gators on the spot, taking home only the valuable hide.

I have a deputy, with my department, that is a bona fide gator hunter and guide and has been for quite sometime. I'll get with him and ask some more questions.

[pgg]

I don't see a problem. If it was me I would have used my .300 Win Mag bolt action from a ways away. Only because I'm a chicken

[jmur5074]

Yeah I'm not a hunter, but I'm a strong supporter of lega hunting. I have nothing against it, UNLESS....


you're inhumanely killing animals. If you can kill it after catching it, you shouldn't be catching it. That's poor sportsmanship and THAT is why people think hunting is inhumane.

[Cidp24]

By law here, you have to catch and restrain the gator before killing it. My guess would be to reduce ricochet when shooting at distance into water. They want the gator close to the boat for less angle.

Alligators may only be dispatched with a shotgun with shot size no larger than #6 shot or with a
bangstick chambered in .38 caliber or larger. All shotguns or bangsticks must remain cased and
unloaded until the alligator is restrained. No alligator may be dispatched until it is restrained by
a noose or snare around the neck or leg so that the alligator is controlled.

http://home.mdwfp.com/wildlife/speci...r/default.aspx

[Wolven]

We dealt with a lot of gators in Florida...which is funny as we had absolutely NO training in dealing with them. So, we just made it up as we went along...good times.

[lewisipso]

We dealt with a lot of gators in Florida...which is funny as we had absolutely NO training in dealing with them. So, we just made it up as we went along...good times.

There's training for that?! Who knew.

[bayern]

Yeah, sure, she used a .22 cal. She shot the damn thing in a boat (as the law requires). Just emagine, trying to shoot a thrashing alligator in the boat with a .50 cal? or .44 mag? or even a .38. You may end up thrashing around in the boat with a pissed off gater as the friggen boat SANK. Hell, there more gators down here then Yankees. Need to cull them out (gators, or maybe even yankees).

[Odd]

Bayern, I think you're on to something here. A Mutually Assured Destruction meddlesome yankee/gator cull...

This has potential.

[Ducky]

My uncle was the game warden for SC for a good number of years. The monsters he'd bring out of the swamps or confiscate from poachers sometimes eclipsed even this guy, and I will honestly say that even standing next to a dead one was both impressive and intimidating.

Cookouts at his house were always GREAT.