![]() Gross has found that toxic chemical pollutants can interfere with the sexual development of young alligators producing bizarre effects and disrupting their ability to reproduce. Tonight the researchers will try to gather evidence of a new and insidious threat that could, in a generation or two, endanger the population of alligators in the refuge. Gross helps push a swamp airboat into the water. ![]() GROSS: That's gonna stay dry, it probably, I hope so, I'm not gonna guarantee ya.ĬURWOOD: Dr. (Sounds of a boat being launched into the water) Timothy Gross, a zoologist from the University of Florida, and a team of government and university scientists have special permission and have waited months for this opportunity to hunt young alligators from the Okefenokee. Hunting alligators here, in the primitive swamp, is strictly prohibited.īut Dr. The Okefenokee swamp is one of the refuges the federal government has created to protect the once endangered animals. Alligators have outlived the dinosaurs, survived the ice ages, and so far, they've even endured predation by humanity. The alligator's breeding behavior has helped ensure the species survival for 250 million years. The sound, like a Harley-Davidson motorcyle being kickstarted, is the alligator's mating call and the way he stakes out his territory. A male gator lifts his head from the marshy bog and roars. I'm Steve Curwood.ĬURWOOD: It's alligator breeding season in the Okefenokee swamp in Southeast Georgia.
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