Butchers slaughtered an alligator and found something macabre inside | the Chronicle

Workers at a butcher’s shop in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, were seen surprised by the wide variety of objects, some very strange, they found inside a huge crocodile captured on private property adjacent to the Edisto River.

According to staff at Cordray’s, a company dedicated to the treatment of animals, they do not normally open or analyze the stomach contents of the alligators they bring them. However, given the imposing size of the specimen in question, about 4.5 meters long and about 200 kilos, they decided to make an exception.

Among the objects found that attract attention are five identity plates, two with the contact number still legible, one of them still in service. When you call the indicated phone, a man confirmed that 24 years ago he lost a hunting dog in the area near where the reptile was captured.

In a reminder of this seemingly limitless predator’s relentless appetite too A car spark plug and bullet casing were removed, along with copious amounts of bobcat claws and turtle shells.

Although the exact age of the alligator is unknown, based on the maximum average size achieved by this species and the fact that 24 years ago it was large enough to eat a hunting dog, it is estimated that ‘he was of advanced age, since their growth the rate practically stops when they reach 35 years old.

According to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, South Carolina alligators are known to grow over 4 meters in length and live up to 60 years.

However, a decades-long study of protected alligators at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center in Georgetown County suggests that reptiles can live for over 70 years, but stop growing after around 35 years, which means their size is no longer. maybe not reliable. actual age measurement.

Alligators can be hunted legally in South Carolina with a permit obtained by lottery. The hunting season lasts a month and takes place in the fall.

Outside of this period, homeowners and managers can obtain permits from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to legally euthanize pest alligators on their property, a task they can either do on their own or hire an agent. professional wildlife watchdog to carry it out.

Annoying alligators are those which are considered to be a threat to the life and safety of people and pets, either due to overt aggression or, more commonly, due to habituation and lack of fear humans, often from being fed illegally by people out of ignorance.

A mantra preached by the South Carolina DNR is “A fed crocodile is a dead crocodile”, referring to what wildlife control will do if they learn that a crocodile has been fed by humans.

Once considered a nuisance, an alligator can only be removed by euthanasia. It is illegal in South Carolina to move nuisance alligators.