Arkansas hunters make second-highest harvest of alligators on record this season

Little Rock, Arkansas – 181 alligators were harvested by hunters in Arkansas this season, the second-highest total ever in the Natural State.

The record-breaking 202 alligators harvested last year were just surpassed by this year’s collection, and Amanda Bryant, herpetologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC), expressed satisfaction with the above-average success rate.

“This year we had a 54% success rate on public land, but typically we see about one-third of the tags filled,” Bryant said. “And the private land quota was filled to 96%.”

According to AGFC authorities, the weather this year may have contributed to the increased harvest. They also speculate that Hurricane Helene may have encouraged hunters to inspect an alligator rather than wait for a larger one.

Bryant stated that the reason behind most empty alligator tags is that hunters hope to catch a larger alligator than they really do, but it’s also possible that some of the anticipated rain made hunters more willing to take a somewhat smaller alligator. “The final weekend ended up being rather pleasant after all, and we saw respectable numbers taken all the way through the end of the season.”

During the second weekend of the hunt, Amity resident Cody Gourley was among the fortunate hunters who brought home a 12-foot, 6-inch beast on Millwood Lake.

The first weekend, according to Gourley, “we went out and saw 70 to 75 gators per night, but we just couldn’t get close enough to a big one to make it happen.” I was reaching to the point where I would have been happy with any alligator by the second weekend. We noticed this one at around nine thirty and felt it belonged in that bigger category.

Gourley claimed he was traveling to more difficult-to-reach backwaters with a 14-foot boat.

“I was shocked to see how big the gator was when it came up,” Gourley remarked. We had to float it next to us as we returned to the ramp because we were unable to get it inside the boat. I’ve never gone on a search like that one.

The AGFC, which has received calls from local fishers worried that the area’s population has gotten too large, was heartened by the alligator harvest that was observed in Millwood.
According to Bryant, six of the eight public tags we had for Millwood this year were filled. “It’s wonderful to see so many tags being filled in here, and maybe it will help to lessen the perception of conflict between people and wildlife in this area.”

Bryant credited fewer nuisance calls in south Arkansas in recent years for the greater harvest, particularly on private land.

Bryant stated, “We see a strong relationship between the lower nuisance calls and the added harvest opportunity.” “The private land hunt allows landowners to manage the nuisance alligator on their own during the hunt, which has a lot to do with it, but part of it may be because people are more accustomed to seeing alligators now than they did 20 to 30 years ago.”

This year, AMZ 3 (southeast Arkansas) and Alligator Management Zone 1 (southwest Arkansas) tied for the most alligators captured at 87 apiece.