Fundraising Kick-Off for the Virginia Gator Expedition

Photo copyright 2011, 2012 by Jackson Landers.

I've built a pretty good career out of announcing that I'm going to do some crazy pain-in-the-ass thing and then following through with it.

My ground-breaking deer classes, for example. Or that time that I quit my day job and spent 16 months hunting invasive species all over the United States. Or the other time this past spring when I hiked from Virginia Beach to Corolla Beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

This time I'm going to slog around in the swamps and creeks of  southern Virginia looking for alligators that officially don't exist.

Many writers and outdoorsmen in Virginia have speculated that there could be wild alligators lurking in Virginia. Not merely feral gators that have been dumped by exotic pet-owners, but animals that have moved north under their own power across the border from North Carolina. The closest known wild population is in a pond less than twenty miles from NC's border with Virginia. Only last year there was a confirmed sighting of a large gator only five miles from the border.

Average annual temperatures are growing higher every year. This is no longer open to debate. If you want to argue about what is causing it, have fun. I don't personally have a political axe to grind over this. The thermometers are not lying and it is clear that the temperature zones in which alligators can survive and successfully breed have shifted some miles to the north during the past decade.

There is literally nothing stopping alligators from becoming established in Virginia. I hypothesize that Virginia has a new top predator hiding in our southern coastal swamps.

We will identify the most likely areas of Virginia to hold gators with the help of my fellow outdoor blogger (and professional biologist) River Mud. River Mud has already done some outstanding modelling of where alligators should soon be found in Virginia. Based on his analysis, I'll drive down with a canoe and a truck full of gear to spend about a week in the field. I will hang baits (without hooks) in front of game cameras by the water to attract alligators for a photo-op. At night I will patrol in the dark with a spotlight to look for the tell-tale glowing eyes on the water.

I will also make a trip to that northernmost known population of gators in North Carolina, and I'll visit the Great Dismal Swamp to find out what the rangers have seen. I have no intention of killing any alligators on this hunt. The goal is to investigate the animal's presence. The next step would be for everyone to have a discussion about what kind of relationship we are going to have with the animals and whether they will be hunted, protected, or ignored within Virginia.

Including all of the equipment, the time spent on research and preparation, plus the time spent editing photos and video and writing the resulting article on my return, this is going to cost me quite a bit of money. I live hand-to-mouth and cannot possibly finance this project myself. None of the magazines interested in having me write an article about this are willing to pay enough to cover much more than gas, at best.

Are alligators really cool? Do you want to know whether there is a secret population in Virginia? Then please donate to my fundraising campaign! Lets stop arguing about the alligator issue and get some real facts.

I think that my record of finding wildlife out of place in tough environments speaks for its self -- If there is any private individual who can get this done, I am definitely that guy.