Alligator’s stomach contents lead to surprising solution to feral hog issues

Wild hogs and alligators are both prolific in southeast Texas, and even city folks have encountered the feisty critters. (How many videos have we watched of alligators trespassing in swimming pools?)

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Now a mysterious find in Cabin Bluff, Georgia has revealed that the two beasts might pose a solution to each other.

Cabin Bluff boasts itself as a retreat destination where visitors can enjoy the beauty of nature in Georgia’s marshlands.  When you have marshes, however, you also have alligators.

As it turns out, alligators can help control the feral hog population.

After a Cabin Bluff trail guide found a large hairball that resembled a coconut during a hike near the marsh, certified wildlife biologist Dave Edwards knew that he needed to figure out what made the hairball.

He knew that the hair belonged to a hog, but what was big enough to eat an entire hog and then cough up such a large hairball?

Edwards didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

A couple of weeks later a motorist struck an alligator on the road.

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When the alligator’s stomach contents were dissected, Cabin Bluff staff were shocked to discover a similar hairball still lodged in the gator’s gut.

With the hairball mystery solved, one can’t help but wonder if gators really can be the natural answer to curbing hog populations.

 

 

What do you think?

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