Natural Resources manager goes on an alligator hunt Published Aug. 7, 2009 By Wayne Crenshaw 78 ABW/PA ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- It's 8 a.m. on an overcast day last week, and Dr. Bob Sargent is preparing to try to catch the biggest thing swimming in Duck Lake. The creature is an elusive alligator that Mr. Sargent estimates to be at least five feet long. The gator hasn't been a problem, but he wants to catch it before it becomes one. He caught it about year ago, but it managed to escape just as he was about to get it into the boat. Mr. Sargent, the natural resources manager at Robins, is using a method some people might find peculiar. He is trying to catch the gator with a fishing pole, and the three-pronged hook is only about the size of what a fisherman might use to catch a large-mouth bass, not an alligator. The idea is to spot the gator, cast the line over the gator's back and then reel it in until it snags on the gator. The gator would then be pulled, very gradually, toward the boat, lassoed with grappling poles and relocated to the Ocmulgee River. It's not as dramatic as the gung-ho methods of the late Steve Irwin, who hosted the popular TV show The Crocodile Hunter, but it works. Mr. Sargent, who studied alligators in Florida and has considerable expertise in catching them, has captured eight gators at Robins using the same method. Only this gator has proven to be much more of a challenge. Accompanied by Danny Jones, supervisor of the Entomology Shop, Mr. Sargent took a Jon boat into the lake, armed only with binoculars and the fishing pole. Within a few minutes they spotted the gator, with just its eyes and snout protruding above the still water, but it was too far way. By the time they got near enough to cast, it disappeared under the water. A gator can stay under water for about 15 minutes, Mr. Sargent stated, and sure enough, it was just about 15 minutes later that it popped back up, pretty much in the same spot as it went under. But by the time they maneuvered to casting distance, the gator disappeared. The same process repeated itself for about another hour before they decided to give up on the hunt. "I don't think this technique is going to work with this one," Mr. Sargent said. "He's too skittish." But that's also a good thing, he noted. As long as the gator is scared of people, it means that he's not a danger to anyone. It also means that no one is feeding it, which is a common way that gators end up becoming a danger. Mr. Sargent stresses to never, ever feed an alligator or any other wildlife on base. When people feed gators, the gators start to approach humans, which is the last thing anyone wants. "A fed alligator is a dangerous alligator," he said. People are often surprised to learn that there are gators at Robins. Mr. Sargent has caught them out of lakes and ditches. There have never been any gator attacks at Robins, either on humans or pets, but the gators are relocated when they move into the ponds near residential areas out of concern that an attack could happen. Although the Duck Lake gator doesn't appear to be any danger now, Mr. Sargent said it must be moved because it will only get bigger. Other options include putting out an underwater trap, seeking the help of a Department of Natural Resources wildlife trapper, or bringing in someone with a gator hunting permit. Gators are not the only wildlife problem on base. Numerous critters have emerged from the swamps east of Robins to become a problem on base, including bears and wild hogs. On the same morning of the alligator hunt July 30, the Department of Natural Resources caught a black bear near the Museum of Aviation. Also problematic are opossums and raccoons, which like to try to snag food out of trash cans on base. To combat that problem, the base is beginning an initiative to replace outdoor trash can lids with spring loaded lids that would automatically stay shut and could not be opened by a critter. So what should people do if they encounter a bear, a gator or other wildlife on base? "By all means, don't offer it food," Mr. Sergeant said. "The problems we have are the result of people feeding them."