Chattahoochee and Sinclair Gators Caught, Others Still Out There

Recently it was documented that a rather large alligator had appeared once again near the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta. As of Tuesday, May 10, DNR successfully trapped and relocated the female alligator.

She is 6-feet, 8-inches long with a significant portion of her tail missing, which would have put her in the 8-foot range.

The DNR decided to relocate the gator to south Georgia back to its habitat where it traditionally belongs. Even though she has been able to sustain herself for possibly the last three years, DNR believes she will survive better in more suitable habitat and among other gators.

DNR’s Communications and Outreach Specialist Melissa Cummings said the alligator also needed to be removed from an frequently used by people.

“It’s not the alligator’s habitat, and it’s a well-used area, and you don’t want people feeding it or seeking it out,” said Cummings.

A Lake Sinclair alligator, one that had become a social-medial sensation, was also recently caught and relocated to south Georgia. The location of this particular gator wasn’t much of a surprise to Kevin Kramer with WRD.

“It’s not unusual because the gator is just inside the normal expansion of alligator habitat,” said Kramer.

Lake Sinclair is located in Putnam and Baldwin counties, just north of the fall line where alligator habitat ranges. A landowner called DNR to complain about the gator, and they suggested the landowner call Bug House Pest Control in Milledgeville. The company came and caught the 36-inch gator, and it was taken to south Georgia.

“(I) thought it was somebody’s pet and let it go when they left college and graduated. There’s no evidence of that, but it’s not something that came up the Oconee River,” said Ed Kirkpatrick, of Bug House Pest Control.

Other alligators have recently appeared in places where they aren’t traditionally supposed to be.

There have been reports of an alligator in Fayette County that the locals call Flat Creek Floyd because he was seen near the Flat Creek Bridge.

DNR was working with Jason Clark of Southeast Reptile Rescue and local authorities to locate and capture the gator. According to Kramer, they have been working alongside the police department, but the 5-foot gator has not been seen for several weeks now.

“The gator has probably moved down the river to another location now,” said Kramer.

According to Kramer, the gator is not a threat due to its size. However, people were taking social-media selfies with the gator in the background.

Another gator has been spotted in the South River, which originates in southeast Atlanta in Fulton County and runs into Lake Jackson.

Rockdale County homeowner Andy Futch had been seeing signs of the gator on the banks of the South River since last summer, and Andy told GON he thinks there might be more than one.

“The one I have a picture of in early March is too small to have been from the tracks I have seen,” Futch said. “The tracks I saw were 4 inches long and about 3 inches wide.”

If you see an alligator in an unlikely place, please take a picture and send it to GON at [email protected].