Recent News

It's later, gator for downtown party animal

Posted: Wednesday May 18, 2011

Marcus Johnson never expected to see him there, not in downtown Savannah.

"Someone yelled, 'Somebody come down here. It's an alligator,' " said Johnson, who had been talking with friends about 1 a.m. Friday morning.

A 5-foot, 10-inch alligator had crept up along a brick wall at Franklin Square. The mud-coated gator sat coolly while people came from the City Market district to look.

Minutes later, about 30 onlookers watched as "Trapper Jack" Douglas, Chatham County's on-call alligator catcher, snagged the gator using a noose-like catch-pole.

Some took pictures of the event while others questioned the likelihood of an alligator showing up downtown.

While Douglas said he's recently caught plenty of gators -- an average of two a day -- he was surprised by this one's inland trek to historic Savannah...

Read the full article here.

Nine-foot alligator caught near East Lathrop

Posted: Wednesday May 18, 2011

"Man, this is like Animal Planet," Dancial Jackson, 21, said Sunday.

He wasn't exaggerating. About 10 feet away from him was a feisty, 9-foot-long alligator that had wandered up from the Savannah River to check out Jackson's place of employment, Private Cars of East Lathrop Avenue.

At this point, the gator was hog-tied, but at around 4:15 p.m., the big fella was staring at Jackson and walking toward him up the cross street of Enterprise Drive.

"We wash cars here, and my dad takes garbage out this way all the time," Jackson said.

While they had only planned a momentary stop at the business Sunday, Jackson's father, Daniel, decided it would be prudent to call police...

Read the full article here.

Man in Black: Trapper Jack's caught all creatures great and small

Posted: Wednesday May 18, 2011

A woman on Skidaway Island had an alligator in her swimming pool.

The gator, about 7 feet long, had gone off the diving board. So Jack Douglas was called to the rescue -- he's a nuisance alligator trapper, licensed by the state.

Jack traps gators in Chatham and Bryan counties. The smaller ones are released into the river, but the larger creatures are skinned by Jack and the meat and hides are sold.

The name of his business is Trapper Jack's Predator Control. He doesn't just handle alligators; it's any kind of animal that gets somewhere it isn't supposed to be. Jack usually finds homes for them.

I run into him from time to time, and it usually makes for a good picture.

Like the day in 1998 when a chicken was running loose on the grounds of Memorial Health University Medical Center. Reporter Mary Landers and I headed out...

Read the full article here.

Gator trails and gator tales

Posted: Wednesday May 18, 2011

Long before a drawbridge connected the mainland to Skidaway Island, Jack Douglas traveled there by boat as a guide for Hall Brothers Wilderness Hunts.

Douglas led sportsmen from across the country through the marshes and maritime forests in pursuit of deer and wild boar.

But many clients wanted to see alligators in their natural habitat. Douglas was usually able to oblige.

At the time, alligators were on the protected species list.

They aren't any longer.

These days, Douglas sees plenty of alligators. The man known as Trapper Jack is the only licensed nuisance alligator trapper in Chatham and Bryan counties. He's always on call to get those gators that come a little too close for comfort...

Read the full article here.

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