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Searching for the Elusive Alligator, by Pete Garcia
You know when someone says an animal is more afraid of you than you are of it? Well, I don’t think that logic applies to 11-foot-long alligators in the wild.
It’s difficult to describe the anticipation of waiting to see an animal that could literally eat you. I wanted to see him, but on my terms and not the alligator’s. I want to be close enough to photograph the animal, but not close enough to be mistaken for a meal.
Just before 7 a.m. on a muggy and quiet May morning, the stillness of the water’s edge some 20 yards in front of me was ever so slightly disturbed. Something moved in the water, something really big.
There was more stillness, then like a ghost, the giant animal slowly peeked its eyes and nostrils out of the water. It was, without a doubt an alligator. With one eye – one big menacing eye – fixated on me, the reptile remained as still as the water around it. I inched as close to the water’s edge as I could without getting in the water, afterall, there could’ve been another one of these giants in the water waiting eying me for breakfast.
The alligator ever so slowly drifted in closer and then slowly away. All the while, with my heart racing in excitement, I shot at some six frames a second, non-stop. It was an awesome, almost spiritual experience, to see such an animal. You’ll never have a true appreciation for such a creature unless you see it in the wild in its habitat.
Moreover, this wasn’t the Discovery Channel or a zoo. This was a wild alligator in water which borders Jim Wells County less than an hour’s drive from Alice where I call home.
The photographs I snapped that morning probably won’t place in the wildlife photography contest. The lighting was dim, and truthfully, I couldn’t get as close as I would have liked. Still, if one of the thousands of photographs I shot through the five months of the contest makes someone stop and view in amazement at the beauty and majesty of our native wildlife and gives someone the same rush I felt with the gator that morning, then I have helped achieve what the contest set out to do.
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Special Print of the Month
This Great American Alligator playing with a Red Eared Slider was photographed by John Martell; on the Johnson Ranch, Al & Diane Johnson, Landowners. This photo won First Place in the All Other Reptiles & Amphibians Category and Third place in the Reptiles and Amphibians Division. Click on the link below to order.
http://www.wildlifephotocontest.com/prints
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Pre-Order Wildlife in Focus now!
Our Prices have not changed in 10 Years! Your pre-order helps provide funding to publish Wildlife in Focus V, which will be released in the Fall of 2010. This 10th anniversary issue will be a limited edition, (we will only print based on pre-orders) so pre-order now by clicking on the link below. We are offering advance copies of Wildlife in Focus V, for only $25.00 when you buy 10 or more. This means a 37% discount for you. Buy 20 or more books and we will print your name or company name in the book as a supporter of local wildlife and habitat conservation. Buy 50 or more books and your name or company name will be printed on the back cover of our book and prominently displayed with our Traveling Benefactor's Photo Exhibit.
http://www.wildlifephotocintest.com/books
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Become a Member!
Help us educate our landowners and community about the importance of protecting the Coastal Bend; a place ecologically diverse and home to a wide variety of birds, mammals and other native wildlife. We are proud to host one of the richest photography contests in the world which rewards not only photographers but landowners as well. We're proud of the five volumes of Wildlife in Focus featuring the beauty of the Coastal Bend wildlife and habitat. And we're proud of our Kritters 4 Kids Education Program, and Traveling Benefacors Photography Exhibit.
You too can become a proud part of what we're doing. By visiting the web-site below and Choosing the membership level that's right for you.
http://www.wildlifephotocontest.com/membership
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Calling all Volunteers
We are always looking for a little help! At this time we need volunteers to help with our Wildlife in Focus V, The Art of Survival, book signing fundraising party, tentatively scheduled for October, 2010.
We need volunteers to help with bringing new and creative ideas to help with finding a venue, contacting sponsors, decorations and much more. Please contact Patti at 361 881 9316 or email at wildlifephoto@sbcglobal.net if you are interested in helping with this fundraiser.
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