re: Disturbing Wildlife

If they don't do something about the gators around here its only a matter of time til something bad happens.

Why do you need to pick it up? I ask that not to be a dickhead, but genuinely curious why you gotta handle wildlife.

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Filmed an educational video that helps people understand how to identify the species, its habits, relative safety, etc. So the next time someone sees that species, maybe it rightfully doesn’t lose its head to a shovel.

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Did you get video of yourself getting a ticket?

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Did you get video of yourself getting a ticket?

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No. And no one even witnessed us with the snake. Apparently one of the 2 other groups of people in the park reported us for carrying snake hooks. When we were walking back the park ranger was walking toward us and struck up a “friendly” conversation asking what we were looking for, how do you use the tools, did you catch anything, etc.

I was 100% honest and told him exactly what we were doing, because I’m an honest person and saw nothing wrong with what we were doing. I think he thought he was being clever and tricking me . He then said, “I’m going to have to treat this as a law enforcement issue.” We were still about a half mile from the car, and he says, “Without reaching for anything, do you have any weapons - because I saw the pistol in your vehicle.”

Then he asks if there were any snakes in the ice chest in the vehicle. I responded that there were drinks and ice in the ice chest. (Because, well…it’s an ice chest.) Then, despite, my complete honesty with him, he says, “What did you throw over the railing when I approached? I saw you make a throwing motion.” I told him I threw nothing (because I threw nothing). If I were going to be throwing stuff over the railing, why would I tell him exactly what we were doing and that we handled and released a snake when no one witnessed it?

When I told him we didn’t see any signs posted aside from “don’t feed the gators,” he said ,”We can’t post a sign for every single thing you can’t do.” Told him I’ve walked by rangers/park workers with a snake hook in hand or talked to other ones about what snakes I’ve caught for nearly 40 years there, and he just said “Then they were wrong.”

Then when we’re walking back to the vehicle, the autistic young man with me is walking about 15 ft. behind so he says, “ He needs to keep pace with us or I’ll have to call Jefferson police to assist.”

Then we had to put our hooks in his truck, then sit on the curb while he retrieved the pistol and locked it in his truck, then he searched the vehicle - I guess trying to find all those snakes we were suffocating in the ice chest.

If I had copped an attitude with him from the start, I could understand. But I was 100% honest about our activity that was witnessed by no one. His actions thereafter were downright comical.

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No. And no one even witnessed us with the snake. Apparently one of the 2 other groups of people in the park reported us for carrying snake hooks. When we were walking back the park ranger was walking toward us and struck up a “friendly” conversation asking what we were looking for, how do you use the tools, did you catch anything, etc.

I was 100% honest and told him exactly what we were doing, because I’m an honest person and saw nothing wrong with what we were doing. I think he thought he was being clever and tricking me . He then said, “I’m going to have to treat this as a law enforcement issue.” We were still about a half mile from the car, and he says, “Without reaching for anything, do you have any weapons - because I saw the pistol in your vehicle.”

Then he asks if there were any snakes in the ice chest in the vehicle. I responded that there were drinks and ice in the ice chest. (Because, well…it’s an ice chest.) Then, despite, my complete honesty with him, he says, “What did you throw over the railing when I approached? I saw you make a throwing motion.” I told him I threw nothing (because I threw nothing). If I were going to be throwing stuff over the railing, why would I tell him exactly what we were doing and that we handled and released a snake when no one witnessed it?

When I told him we didn’t see any signs posted aside from “don’t feed the gators,” he said ,”We can’t post a sign for every single thing you can’t do.” Told him I’ve walked by rangers/park workers with a snake hook in hand or talked to other ones about what snakes I’ve caught for nearly 40 years there, and he just said “Then they were wrong.”

Then when we’re walking back to the vehicle, the autistic young man with me is walking about 15 ft. behind so he says, “ He needs to keep pace with us or I’ll have to call Jefferson police to assist.”

Then we had to put our hooks in his truck, then sit on the curb while he retrieved the pistol and locked it in his truck, then he searched the vehicle - I guess trying to find all those snakes we were suffocating in the ice chest.

If I had copped an attitude with him from the start, I could understand. But I was 100% honest about our activity that was witnessed by no one. His actions thereafter were downright comical.

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What a giant douche. I had a bad experience with a rude bitch that was working at the bike rental/gift shop in Shark Valley in December.

damn, all that is pretty shitty. Guess that goes with the saying of "don't talk to the cops".

If it’s federal, remember who the president is.

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carrying snake hooks.

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snake hooks?
You mean these little walking sticks of mine, officer? No snake hooks here.