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Traffic report for Aug. 30

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Game Commission’s annual dove banding program yields interesting results

<p>When I talked to Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission fisheries manager Rob Wnuk about re-stocking Harris Pond a few months ago, I don&#8217;t think replenishing the lake with an alligator is what he had in mind.</p><p>Harris Pond, nestled in Sweet Valley only a few hundred yards away from the PFBC&#8217;s Northeast Region Office, has had an eventful year.</p><p>In the winter, frigid temperatures froze the pond with ice so thick, and for such a long period of time, that a fish kill occurred as oxygen in the water was depleted. The kill was pretty thorough, unfortunately, as surveying by the PFBC yielded a couple of bass and that&#8217;s about it.</p><p>On the bright side, the agency was able to re-stock Harris Pond this summer, depositing 1,500 finglerling largemouth bass and 3,000 fingerling black crappie into the water.</p><p>Someone else added an alligator to the mix earlier this month, a move that came with a tragic, but necessary end.</p><p>The alligator obviously didn&#8217;t belong in Harris Pond and unfortunately the only reasonable recourse to remove the reptile was to kill it. Alligators aren&#8217;t native to Pennsylvania and releasing one in Harris Pond created a lot of potential headaches.</p><p>That alligator would certainly enjoy gulping down all those fingerling fish that the PFBC stocked in the pond. The fingerlings weren&#8217;t intended as gator feed but rather to provide a future fishery for one of the most popular public ponds in the area.</p><p>Even worse, the alligator posed a safety threat while it was in the pond. Harris Pond is known more for fishing than swimming, but it&#8217;s not worth the risk if someone, a child for instance, happens to wade into the water to splash around. Sure, the alligator was only 3-feet long, but they can attack and bite regardless of how big or small they may be. That&#8217;s how alligators eat and survive.</p><p>And the Harris Pond alligator was apparently eager to attack, as it went after topwater lures tossed into the pond by anglers for to land a bass, and not a reptile.</p><p>But what really convinced me that killing the alligator was the only recourse to resolve the situation was a talk I had with Clyde Peeling, owner of Reptiland.</p><p>Plenty of readers criticized the PFBC for killing the alligator and suggested it should&#8217;ve been trapped and re-located instead.</p><p>Peeling, who is the expert when it comes to all things crocodilian, said that&#8217;s easier said than done. Peeling has captured alligators, crocodiles and caimans and said they&#8217;re pretty darn tough to corral. He added that the PFBC officers, who by the way aren&#8217;t trained in capturing and handling alligators, would likely be out on the pond for weeks trying to catch the alligator.</p><p>Peeling also said even if the alligator was captured, there&#8217;s really no where to take it. His facility in Allenwood is already home to several alligators and can&#8217;t accommodate another one. Zoos don&#8217;t appear to be an option either, as they have turned down alligators that were found elsewhere in the state.</p><p>In 2013 a 4 1/2-foot caiman was caught by a PFBC officer and subsequently killed after efforts to find a place to take the reptile turned up empty.</p><p>Two years ago, an alligator was spotted in a reservoir near Pittsburgh, and at that time a Pittsburgh Zoo official said in news reports that they wouldn&#8217;t take in the reptile had it been found. There&#8217;s simply no room and the risk of introducing parasites and disease is just too great.</p><p>But what about shipping the alligator back to its native range in the southeast? Peeling said that wouldn&#8217;t be an option either. Releasing an alligator raised in captivity - one that had lost its fear of humans, would be like releasing a nuisance bear in downtown Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>There&#8217;s going to be problems.</p><p>Besides, states like Florida already have their hands full when it comes to alligators. Earlier this month an alligator bit off a woman&#8217;s arm while she swam in a Florida river. There&#8217;s no way they&#8217;re going to welcome the shipment of an alligator from Pennsylvania.</p><p>There is really only one party to blame when it comes to the death of the Harris Pond alligator: the person who put it there.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Venesky </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_Venesky-13.jpg</photo0><caption0>Venesky </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@civitasmedia.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Why the PFBC’s actions were right