Wrangling Gators in the Glades

As soon as the reptile loses steam, Rice places another noose around its mouth, and together he and Cherkiss hoist it onboard. Now it's my job to secure its jaws shut with a few wraps of electrical tape. During the following 15-minute exam, they measure the gator from snout to tail tip (it's a respectable 8 feet long), take its weight with a handheld scale, and then ask me to, ahem, "sex" the reptile (suffice it to say it's a tactile test never to be repeated by this writer). Rice and Cherkiss also record water depth and habitat type, and fit the gator with a foot tag.



After five years, Rice and his team are beginning to see relationships between the health of gators and the types of areas where they reside. Just as important, they're able to feed this data into a computer program called the Across Trophic Level System Simulation, which predicts how potential changes in hydrology will impact gator populations -- information critical to formulating plans to restore natural water patterns. "But the real benefit is having a pre-restoration data point," says Rice. "So we'll ultimately be able to answer the question, Did it work?"



Towards the end of the night, with our boat's tally standing at four gators, Cherkiss hands me the snare. My heart pounds in my chest as I approach my prey, a 5-foot gator lounging peacefully amidst the saw grass. It takes me a couple of tries to get used to the snare, but I nab his scaly neck on my third attempt. Yes, it was sitting still and, OK, it had only one good eye -- but still, I bagged my own gator. And with some restoration projects already underway, every one counts.





ADVENTURE GUIDE: GATOR RAIDS



The USGS doesn't take volunteers on its gator surveys, but there are other ways to tour the Everglades and wrestle their largest reptiles. Here's where to start.



Gator Wrestling

Gatorland, Orlando

Gatorland's trainer-for-a-day program will give you hands-on experience wrangling gators. $100; gatorland.com



Airboat Tours

Sawgrass Recreation Park, Fort Lauderdale

Take an airboat tour through the same areas surveyed by the USGS. $20; evergladestours.com



Paddling the Glades

North American Canoe Tours, Everglades City

Tour the glades on your own. $35; evergladesadventures.com