A local man landed an unusual catch Tuesday night on Lake Hamilton -- a small alligator that the owner of a Hot Springs tourist attraction believes could have been one stolen from his business last year.
Eric Couch, of Hot Springs, said he was fishing a tournament with his friend, Billy Morgan, when he found the alligator, which appeared to be about 18 inches long, in an area along Little Mazarn Creek.
Couch said they weren't too far up the creek when he spotted it "just sitting in the water" on the outside of a rock wall, noting there were "houses all around in that area."
"I saw eyes glowing and thought it was a snake at first, but then noticed it was an alligator," he said. "We tried to net it, but it swam off and I thought it was gone. Then I saw it again on the bank."
He said they were able to get it in their net but then "it got loose in the boat for a minute" so he finally picked it up by the tail. "I would love to have kept it if I could," he said, but they decided to call authorities.
Couch said they tried to get in touch with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission officials, calling two different numbers, but only got a voicemail. They finally called 911 and talked to a dispatcher who said she would call them back.
"About 15 or 20 minutes later, she called back and told us to throw it back in the water. She said she was told there were several in Lake Hamilton so we let it go," Couch said.
Jamie Bridges, manager of the Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo, said Wednesday he believes the alligator was one of 13 stolen from the business, located at 847 Whittington Ave., on Aug. 15, 2015.
"It was one of ours. I'm sure of it. It had to be," he said Wednesday. "There aren't any gators breeding in Lake Hamilton. If there were big gators in the lake people would be seeing them and their nests."
Bridges said if it had been recovered, it would have been the fourth one found since the theft, since two were found and returned to the business and one was found dead in the roadway where it was struck by a passing vehicle.
"I wish we could have got it back," he said, noting the size of the alligator found Tuesday night would be "about right" to be one of the 12 smaller ones stolen.
"They grow at different rates just like people. This looked like one of the smaller ones," he said.
Couch said he didn't know whether or not it was one of the stolen ones, and noted he had seen an alligator, 4 to 5 feet long, on Lake Hamilton last summer, "in the main channel near the (Highway) 70 west bridge."
Bridges said in August 2015 that security footage showed two people wearing masks and camouflage clothing broke into the business at 2:40 a.m. Aug. 15, and placed the 13 alligators in backpacks and left, all in less than three minutes.
Twelve of the alligators were less than a year old and measured between 12 and 18 inches long. The other alligator was 7 years old and measured 2 and a half to 3 feet long, Bridges said.
One was recovered on Sept. 2 and another on Dec. 11 and returned to the business, all in the general area of the 3200 block of Marion Anderson Road.
Bridges said previously he believes AGFC officers had developed some leads regarding the theft and thinks it may be someone who lives in the area where the gators were found.
Regarding the alligator found on Tuesday, Keith Stephens, AGFC chief of communications, said Wednesday that Couch "should not have picked it up in the first place."
"We don't encourage people to pick up wild animals. Admire them from afar and leave them alone. It is illegal to possess or catch them outside of alligator season. They called us and followed our instructions," he said.
According to the AGFC website, alligator hunting season is Sept. 18-21 and Sept. 25-28. Only 72 permits are available, and applications for permits may be submitted online June 15-30. The fines to possess or hunt alligators out of season range from $250 to $2,500.
"I do remember an alligator reported in Lake Hamilton a few years ago," Stephens said.
Stephens estimated the alligator Couch found could have been 2 years old due to its size, but said it's difficult to judge its age without examining it.
"If we have a nuisance alligator, then we tag them. Someone calls us and tells us it crawled up in their yard getting too close to their pets or home," Stephens said.
"Some people feed them and they continue to come up to the home and can become aggressive. We preach to people all the time to leave them alone. We have a lot of people around this year that want to pick up fawns because they think they are orphaned, but the mother is standing in the woods. Touching them reduces their chances of survival."
Local on 05/26/2016