Let’s just get this out of the way right off the bat… alligators don’t live in Minnesota. Most of them live in Florida and Louisiana, but you can find them in other states in the South. The one place you definitely can’t find them is Minnesota… in November.
Until now…
According to Fox News, Cory Klocek was deer hunting outside of Minneapolis when he harvested his first-ever buck with a shotgun (he’s usually a rifle hunter). While tracking the downed deer, he stumbled up a 3-foot gator. He contacted the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and a game warden gave him the green light to shoot.
He now plans to mount the buck and the gator together… which is guaranteed to be one of most unique taxidermy pieces you’ll find in Minnesota.
“Well… this was a first for me… Great Minnesota gun opener… Odd Minnesota opener…. this morning I harvested a beautiful 10 point buck, this was my first ever deer with a shotgun, as I am usually a rifle hunter (different zone, different regs). As I’m walking around a pond, tracking my deer, I look down to see a 3 foot alligator 10 feet in front of me. After contacting the game warden, I was informed I could shoot it. No clue how it got there, or why. I’m guessing someone had it as a pet and released it when it got too big. Either way, only in 2020 can you go out to sit for deer gun season opener in Minnesota and shoot an alligator. I’m still at a loss of words lol. Legit speechless. The plan is to mount them together in a fun taxidermy piece.”
Of course, many were angry that he shot the gator, suggesting that he should have moved it to another location or just let it be.
“Big, brave, Cory. You shot a 3 ft gator. The wardens could have moved it.”
“Disgusting. It was waiting for its owner to come and get it. And you killed it for fun. There are no words bad enough for you.”
“Imagine being proud of killing a baby gator.”
“So you killed it for no other reason than to mount it. Jack ass!”
However, an official from the Department of Natural Resources speculated that it was likely a pet that was irresponsibly released when it got too big. And with that brutal Minnesota winter approaching, it has no chance of surviving in the wild. Not to mention, it’s an invasive species.
“We don’t know the background of this particular animal, but the DNR from time to time receives reports of reptiles such as alligators and caimans in Minnesota. These often turn out to be pets that were turned loose or escaped from their owners.”
“We urge people not to do this, for several reasons: these animals are not native to Minnesota and would be unable to survive the winter, which is right around the corner. In addition, we don’t want these invasive animals to disrupt our native ecosystem. Rather, people who have pets that are too big should consider surrendering them, if possible.”
As Cory said…. only in 2020.
