Not a good day to be in the wild

I was planning to tell about a rather pleasant little drive we took through Gulf Islands National Seashore - Davis Bayou area last night. We spotted 4 rabbits and 2 possums (opossums, to be correct). This morning, though, before I could sit down at the computer, I picked up The SunHerald, our local newspaper, and found that an old alligator has been euthanized. Now please understand, he didn't do anything wrong. He was living in Brickyard Bayou in Gulfport as he had for at least the past 25 years. He'd been there so long, that one of the local residents had named him Old George, after George Harrison of the Beatles. Old George had made the mistake of sunning, as alligators will do on cooler days to warm up a bit. He was near a heavily travelled bridge, and he was a traffic stopper. People were lined up to watch Old George nap in the sun. Authorities made the decision to trap and move him because they feared he'd cause a wreck. Old George was deemed too big. He was 11 feet long, and according to The SunHerald, any alligator who is moved and is over 7 feet long is euthanized. The locals say that he had never been a problem. He ignored even the labrador retrievers who chased sticks in the bayou. What killed Old George? People. People, in their own stupidity, who had begun to throw food to him. Feeding a wild animal makes it begin to look to people for food. That leads to close encounters where unsuspecting folks can get hurt, and the gator can, too. Like Old George. So forgive me for not feeling quite as excited about the sweet little rabbits and little old possums we saw last night. I'm in mourning for Old George.

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