'Shy' gator calls Evans pond home

North Georgia's Bigfoot was a hoax and Scotland's Loch Ness Monster is still open to debate.

Donnie Brown's alligator in Evans, however, is the real deal.

"He's been with us three years that we know of, so he must like it back there," said Mr. Brown, whose pond behind Brown Feed & Seed is home to the 7-foot reptile.

Gators are common across Georgia, but their range is mostly confined to the coastal plain below Augusta, said senior wildlife biologist I.B. Parnell of Georgia's Wildlife Resources Division.

The gator's unusual appearance in Columbia County has made it a tourist attraction of sorts to some passers-by, but it has also annoyed neighbors who want it removed.

"We've had people who come through here, walking a dog or whatever, and see it, and they just figure we need to get rid of it," Mr. Brown said.

The Department of Natural Resources sent an officer out to the area, but unless the gator is a nuisance, it is heavily protected by federal and state laws - and harassing it can result in criminal prosecution.

"We don't allow other people to say, ' We want an alligator removed from someone else's property,'" Mr. Parnell said. "Only the landowner has the right to make that decision."

Mr. Brown said the gator is shy and stays mostly hidden among the weeds and algae.

"I'm not sure what he eats down there but it's probably bullfrogs and catfish," he said.

It has eaten a few geese, he said. "He loves birds."

Alligators generally aren't a nuisance as long as they stay in their habitat, Mr. Parnell said, noting that the Evans gator is on private property.

"They also have some benefits in controlling geese, and in some cases beavers," he said.

"The most important rule, though , is that you should never feed them ," he said. "That makes them lose their fear of people , and then you can have problems."

Reach Rob Pavey at 868-1222, ext. 119, or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.