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| Copyright 2011 by Jackson Landers |
A few years ago I went for a day hike around the Great Dismal Swamp. It seemed to me like perfect alligator habitat. I saw plenty of food, cover, and mild weather. There is a known wild population only about 16 miles south of the VA/NC border. With winters getting milder and average annual temperatures creeping higher each year, it sure seems to me like we ought to have some wild gators crossing the border.
"I want to hear about sightings of gators in Southeast Virginia. Anything that you or someone you know may have spotted."
My fellow Virginian and outdoor blogger, River Mud, wrote a series of outstanding blog entries on this subject a few years ago. He did a thorough analysis of where and when we should expect alligators to begin entering the Commonwealth. If you are interested in the subject, start with this first of his three part series.
Officially, they aren't here and never will be here. At least according to any government agency you might ask. But as my work hunting for invasive species has taught me, the wildlife isn't paying much attention to where it is supposed to be. The situation on the ground is sometimes very different from what we find on paper.
I am not a scientist and I can not improve on River Mud's expert analysis. However, I am a professional hunter and writer. What I'm pretty good at is going out into the wild and finding an animal and then letting people know what the deal is with it.
It is my intention to launch some sort of small expedition around the border to find and photograph a wild alligator in Virginia. The question is exactly where to go.
This is where I need your help. I need to hear about sightings of gators in Southeast Virginia. Anything that you or someone you know may have spotted.
Anything outside of that area won't be helpful. If you saw an alligator on a river in Northern Virginia or Maryland then that is almost certainly a dumped pet. Reptiles don't tend to leap-frog deep into really distant new habitat like that without human intervention. And the temperatures throughout spring aren't dependably high enough as far north as, say, Newport News, for eggs to survive and hatch. So even if you were to dump a pair of male and female alligators into perfect habitat on the Potomac River, this will never lead to a sustained population of alligators. They could survive, but not reproduce.
If we can find alligators just over the border in the Great Dismal Swamp or in Back Bay, that is a whole different story. It is possible that they could successfully breed in this area. Even if they don't, there are good corridors reaching across the border to a known breeding area within 20 miles. We could have a small but steady stream of alligators moving into Virginia on their own and replenishing a theoretical Virginian population. Now we're talking about something that is ecologically meaningful.
So bring on the tips and stories! Either post them here or email them to me at jack.landers@gmail.com. If you choose to post them here then I hope that you will provide some type of contact information.
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