Evidence of alligator poaching was found at a wildlife park in Punta Gorda. Fox 4's Chief Photographer Curt Tremper snapped a picture of a dead alligator with its tail missing in Cecil Webb Wildlife Management Area recently.
Vincent Rose, an alligator expert who teaches people about the value of the predators to Florida's environment, said that the alligator in the photo was obviously poached.
"(The tail) is chopped up pretty close to the hind legs, which means they wanted meat," Rose said.
He believes the poacher had probably done the same thing before.
"It is damaged in its skull as well. so whoever did kill it knew where to kill it and how to kill it," Rose said.
In January, residents in a San Carlos Park neighborhood reported a bad smell coming from a canal, where a dead alligator - also with its tail cut off - was decomposing.
Rose said that alligators are too important of a natural resource to hunt illegally.
"They keep the environment in check," he said. "They provide a great revenue source for hunting and for the state of Florida."
Poaching alligators - a protected species - is a third degree felony. and can cost someone a great deal if they are caught.
"You can lose your licenses, your boat, your guns - everything involved in that crime, you can lose it all," Rose said.
He said wildlife officers can't be everywhere, so Rose urges people to report any signs of poaching.
"If they know anything about it, they should report it to FWC, because (poaching) doesn't do anyone any good," he said.
There is a legal harvesting season in which hunters can take two alligators per permit. The application period begins May 12. More information can be found at www.MyFWC.com.
