There’s a big crock of anger in LA over the search for someone named Reggie:
Gator wranglers from Florida have abruptly quit their search for the city’s elusive 7-foot alligator, livid that they were publicly ridiculed by a brash Hurricane Katrina evacuee that a councilwoman brought in to help nab the reptile.
Thomas “T-Bone” Quinn described as “retarded” the tactics employed by the wranglers from Orlando-based Gatorland. He made his comments on Saturday after being escorted by Councilwoman Janice Hahn to Ken Molloy Harbor Regional Park in South Los Angeles, where the gator dubbed Reggie has inhabited a lake for at least two months.
“I am not going to allow Gatorland to be referred to as ‘retarded,'” Gatorland team leader Ted Williams said Monday. “I will not allow some swamp rat to walk into a situation and make comments about Gatorland and this team. We conducted ourselves in a professional manner.”
Yes, it’s vital to defend the honor of Gatorland. MORE:
Williams also accused Hahn of playing him “like a little puppet” for political purposes.
Hahn said Monday that she was surprised by Williams’ reaction. Quinn, a 47-year-old Gulf Coast pipe fitter, apologized for his remarks and all of the men seemed to be getting along by Saturday night, she said.
“I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have somebody else’s advice,” said Hahn, who praised Gatorland’s efforts. “The only agenda I have is catching Reggie and I thought this was an opportunity to give this evacuee something to do.”
The Gatorland team has spent the past week working quietly after dark, setting out bait, laying in wait in the swampy vegetation and cruising the 53-acre Machado Lake in canoes. Quinn has not yet joined the hunt.
The reason: they’re doing a background check and have to look into issurance issues. And then there’s this little tidbit:
They also were worried by Quinn’s graphic descriptions of how he usually stabs alligators in the brain to kill them.
That approach will go over really well with animal rights advocates in LA…
Hahn said he’s filled out paperwork to become a city volunteer, which will take care of insurance questions. Background checks appear to have come back clean, she said. Quinn said he would abide by city rules to keep Reggie alive.
Wranglers from Florida and Colorado have tried in vain for five weeks to catch Reggie, who allegedly was dumped in the 53-acre Machado Lake by his former owner when he got too big to keep as a pet.
Some people, including Gatorland’s Williams, are suggesting that Reggie should be left alone. Hahn said she may consider that option as long as it’s legal.
So tourists: if you’re swimming in a lake in L.A. and feel something weird…..
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.