Maryland man traps, kills alligator spotted near Chesapeake beaches in Calvert County
CALVERT COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Two weeks ago, William Adams was kayaking in the Chesapeake Ranch Estates area when he noticed something unusual in the water. An alligator one foot from his boat. That reptile now lies in his freezer.
Adams said a woman noticed a 3-foot alligator in her pond in 2016. Reports since then of an alligator in the Seahorse Beach/Driftwood Beach area continued, the most recent being that it was approaching eight feet in length.
Adams said the Maryland Department of Natural Resources came to the property in May, but attempts to find the gator were unsuccessful.
"I just don't want it to hurt anyone or do something even worse," Adams said.
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So he had trap lines with hooks set up to catch the alligator Saturday. Sunday, he, his 13-year-old son Jake and their friend Steve Carson found it on the beach. Adams shot the alligator with a crossbow, killing it.
"People were saying how I shouldn't have done it because it's tame," Adams said. "A tame alligator? In a foreign habitat without its usual food source, I'd hate to see it go after someone's pet, or even a child on the beach. There are kids running around all the time near there."
In response to comments the Adams family had received on social media, his wife shared in a Facebook post:
It’s not everyday you see an almost 8’ alligator swimming around in a pond near the beaches your children and pets swim at. He did what he thought was best and he has no regrets.
Adams said he does deer hunting and fishing, but never anything close to an alligator. He said the gator measured 7 feet 6 inches long.
As for what he did with it?
"It's in my freezer," Adams said. "Had some for dinner last night."
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources sent 7News the following statement on the incident:
Maryland Natural Resources Police are still consulting with allied agencies, local and federal, on this matter.
There have been occasional rumors of alligators in the Calvert County area previously but none could be confirmed by DNR. We have had alligators or other non-native crocodilians show up in the wild in Maryland in the past. Occasionally people who have illegally kept pet alligators release them into the wild.
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