Wiregrass Alligator Wrangler Loves the Wild Life

Stillness and darkness surround the 14-foot aluminum john boat, disturbed only by croaking frogs and the occasional splash of a catfish.
But Burks Laney can see and hear more.
He sees the red eyes staring at him, watching as he invades their watery home. The fish are biting in the lake, but unfortunately a larger creature has been biting the fish. And when the paths of alligators and people meet in the Wiregrass, Laney is the man the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Game and Fish Division calls.
Laney is the area's alligator nuisance control hunter, as evidenced by the green sign on his red pickup truck. Each year, he captures an average of 60 alligators, mostly in the months of April through June in southeast Alabama.
Alligators may be associated more with the state of Florida, but they aren't exactly an uncommon sight in Alabama creeks, rivers and swamps.
Laney caught a 10-foot, 400-pound alligator that had killed two calves recently near the Geneva and Houston county line. Five alligators were captured in one trip to a Cottonwood spring, and he came back from a trip to Columbia with a 12-foot, 700-pounder.
Retired orthopedic surgeon Dr. John Haley and wife Rebecca said while their son Chad was feeding their horses, he saw a 6-foot alligator in a pond on their land in the Ardilla community.
The alligator has killed a couple of black swans, two geese, a white duck and a couple of mallard ducks. The Haleys have kept their two golden retrievers in a pen until the animal is caught.
"Our grandchildren come out to visit us from time to time, so this really scares us," Haley said. "He's a nuisance, but I'm awful proud there's somebody around to help us."
Laney has set some snares and traps in hopes of catching the culprit.
"All these big gators now are the ones that hatched out while they were protected as an endangered species," said Laney, who was appropriately wearing a Florida Gators cap as he worked on rebuilding his Taylor taxidermy shop. The shop burned to the ground March 26, along with a freezer stocked with gator bait and more than 171 stuffed animal heads.
He's dividing his attention today between his shop and the night's trip to Elamville and Abbeville, where he would catch two alligators. One of the gators, an 8-footer, was caught in a family's yard in Abbeville.
When the conservation officer receives a nuisance report of an alligator, he issues a permit to Laney to capture the animal. The conservation officer then decides if the alligator will be relocated or killed. The larger alligators are usually destroyed because they will most likely just return to the area where they were caught, Laney said.
After making the capture, the alligator hunter completes a report that describes where the animal was caught. Laney keeps one copy and sends the other copy to Montgomery.
"It's not a real job, and most people wouldn't have it because you can't make any money," he said. "But I get to meet all kinds of people, and most of them are law-abiding, upstanding people."
To catch an alligator, Laney might use steel traps, snare traps or a harpoon with basically any type of bait, such as deer meat, squirrel, crow, rabbit and even road kill.
"There are all kinds of ways you can catch them," he said. "It depends on the circumstances."
The most humane way, he said, is by throwing 4-by-4-by-8-foot cages into the water.
As the area's alligator nuisance control hunter, Laney must have a yellow tag for each alligator he captures. He's also responsible for picking up any alligators killed by poachers or automobiles.
Laney was born on Horseshoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River and has hunted and fished since the age of 8. He's been the area alligator nuisance control hunter since 1991.
He said alligators want no part of human beings unless they've been conditioned to think otherwise by being fed.
But Rambler, Laney's small 13-year-old black terrier, knows the alligators in his yard could see him as dinner. He barks incessantly at the small 5-foot alligator Laney has captured, but keeps his distance from the larger one.
"He's terrified of the big alligators," Laney said. "He respects them. He knows they'll get him."
Although Laney has caught literally hundreds of alligators, only one has bitten him. A 9-foot, 7-inch, 174-pounder that he caught in Bellwood chomped on his arm last June. The large gator, which was bound in Laney's yard, freed his jaws, leaving Laney with a wound that required 20 stitches.
A 288-pound gator also busted the back window of his pickup truck.
"Alligators won't bite you unless they have to, but if they do, they won't turn loose," Laney said. "They'll start rolling and tear your arm off. We had to shoot this one to get him loose. The only reason I didn't lose my arm was I didn't move.
"But they're not aggressive. They won't come up and try to bite people or jump on the boat. But if you hem him up and get close to him, he'll bite you. One thing we tell kids is there aren't any animals in our area that are dangerous if you leave them alone."

Outdoors Is Just Part of the Office for Park Ranger

In Vicky Zinner’s office in the outdoors, she will often see her share of birds, fish and even a few armadillos.
Every once in a while, an alligator or snake might cross her path. But they’re all part of the nature Ms. Zinner loves – and that beats the time spent in her indoor office any day.
But being the manager of Chattahoochee State Park requires spending time in both offices, as well as being able to perform a wide range of duties.
“I am the clerk, bookkeeper, receptionist, groundskeeper or whatever the need may be,” she said. “I do all the necessary work for the Montgomery office, as well as some outside work, although I do have some very good help (maintenance worker Trey Meyers) for the outside grounds keeping.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have the pleasure here of having an employee for every job like the bigger parks. Here, we try to do it all and do the best we can with what we’ve got. So the duties vary drastically from law enforcement to being ready for anything.”
Ms. Zinner, who has been manager of the park in the southeast corner of Houston County since January, came to Chattahoochee State Park from Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores.
In 1989, she became the first woman to take on the position of park ranger.
Although part of the park ranger’s job is enforcing the law in the park, Ms. Zinner said her first priority is educating the lawbreaker. So far, that aspect of her job has been quiet at Houston County’s only state park, but she expects that to change during hunting season.
“Although here at Chattahoochee, I don’t use my law enforcement abilities as much because the need out there as with the bigger parks,” Ms. Zinner said. “I still have to be alert and ready at all times for lawbreakers, whether it is someone illegally hunting, fishing without a license, speeding, or not stopping to pay at the honor box ($1),” she said.
“Unlike law enforcement with the city and county, it’s not a cuff ‘em and stuff ‘em situation. A park ranger should first try to educate the public and let them know what they have done wrong and how it can hurt the environment.
“However, if this does not work, then you cuff ‘em and stuff ‘em, but only as a last resort. A park ranger should always try to be a good role model, as most of the time they are associated with Smokey the Bear and Ranger Rick.”
The park, located on the Florida state line 25 miles southeast of Dothan off Highway 84 East, was originally the site of a Civilian Conservation Corps Camp and is still called the CCC park by the area’s older residents.
Last year, almost 4,000 people visited the park’s 596 wooded acres and its 15-acre lake stocked with bass, bream, shell cracker and pike.
There are also a number of hiking trails, and deer sightings are common. There are also raccoons, opossums, squirrels, fox, coyotes, wild turkeys and turtles.
During her time at Gulf State Park, Ms. Zinner spent much more of her time handling DUIs and answering medical calls by saving swimmers who had ventured too far in the gulf.
Chattahoochee State Park is a smaller park, and the park manager likes it that way.
“I like being a ranger here at Chattahoochee State Park because it is a small park, and the people in the community have been wonderful,” she said.
“Most of the people who use the park are locals and come to relax and catch some fish. (At Gulf State Park), you were always living other people’s vacations. Here, people are more relaxed and just glad it’s their weekend.”