Game
warden tells of creatures furry, feathery and scaly
Questions
and Answers with Game Warden Stephen Woodmansee
 |
| Game
Warden Stephen Woodmansee |
What
do you do?
My main job during the summer is just to watch the water safety
laws on the lake out here. In other words when I’m out here patrolling
in my boat I usually pull up and ask people if they’re doing any good,
check their fish, check heir license and mainly check their water
safety equipment. Make sure they’ve got plenty of life preservers
for everybody in the boat, that they’ve got a fire extinguisher and
whatever other safety equipment they’re required to have.
What
kinds of animals are at Choke Canyon State Park?
We have white-tailed deer. They are very prevalent out here. We have
javelina . . . and we have quail. We have whitewings. We have all
kinds of birds. It’s a birdwatching haven during the wintertime. We
have a lot of people come out here and look for birds. Mainly right
now the only things around are swallows, and we have a lot of buzzards,
whitewings. You can catch an osprey, a fish diver, he works in the
shallows. You can see him in the mornings a lot, diving down and catching
fish with his talons. We have plenty of roadrunners out here.
But
in the winter is when all the birds migrate through here. We have
a lot of birdwatching. It’s a big sport, a big event down here and
we have people walking all over with binoculars and checking different
species of birds.
What
about alligators?
We have alligators in the lake. I’ve seen more alligators this year
than I have seen in a long time. We have a nuisance control program.
If we get a call about a nuisance alligator either in somebody’s stock
tank or up in their yard or bothering them, I’ve got a trap that’s
about 7 feet long that looks like a big hog trap. We put it about
halfway under water and hang a chicken on it on a hook and it swims
in, grabs the chicken, disengages the trap door and it slams on him.
We’ve
caught as big as a 10-footer in that trap and like I say it’s only
about 7 feet long and about 3 by 3. It’s pretty effective.
We transport
alligators to this area. This is a natural habitat, part of the lake
is designated as an alligator management area so it’s the only place
we turn them loose and they’re doing quite well. Every spot I go on
the lake I see alligators, every cove, every point. So you have to
be a little careful when you’re out here.
How
dangerous are alligators?
You don’t want to mess with them. They’ll get where people feed them
and they’ll get real aggressive and you don’t want to fool with them.
. . . This time of year the female alligators have built a nest. She
deposits her eggs and she builds up a mound of twigs and leaves, and
the decomposition with the leaves and stuff will make that like a
natural incubator and the eggs will eventually hatch out. She’s real
aggressive when you get around her young. Their survival rate is about
10 percent because they are so small and they don’t have any type
of defense. They have no sharp teeth. Bass will eat them, birds will
eat them, raccoons will eat them. Anything that’s out here is their
natural enemy. If they can make it for the first year or two years
after that they get a good size and you’re not going to fool with
them.
Are
there turkeys out here?
Yes, we have turkeys. You don’t see many turkeys on this end of the
lake (South Shore), but over at the Calliham State Park there are
quite a few turkeys.
How
many attacks have happened from any animal?
The only attack I know of in this area here was by an alligator
and that was about three years ago. We had one duck hunter three years
ago who went to retrieve some of his ducks that he had shot. He stepped
on an alligator or kicked an alligator, anyway it grabbed his left
leg, his left boot, and tore that boot off and flipped him over a
couple of times in the water filling up his waders with water. He
was all right. He was lucky he had an exterior boot on the waders
because it tore that boot off. So you’ve got to be careful with the
alligators.
You’ve
got to be careful in the winter during deer season, what they call
the rut, when the bucks are looking for does to mate with. They get
real aggressive and they will attack you.
The
javelina - you don’t even want to mess with them - ‘cause you get
around them and they have real sharp teeth.
What
animal is there the most of?
Probably deer. Like in Calliham State Park in the evenings when people
drive through looking at the animals and they throw out corn to feed
for them and the deer are real prolific over there. You see a lot
of does, yearlings and a good amount of bucks.
What’s
the most important tip you would give to people when they come out
here?
Watch for snakes. Respect the water, it will hurt you real quick.
Watch the heat; it gets very warm out here.
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Interviews by Monica Garcia, Amanda Morales, Jose Martinez, Tim
Puente and Demitrio Ramirez.
