ALLIGATORS AND DROUGHT: An A&M-Kingsville student 
wrestles alligators to understand them ... on Passport to 
Texas.

This is Passport to Texas

Tussling with alligators isn't just for reality TV. 

09 -- Typically, anything that's under about seven feet in length, 
we capture from a boat. The real small ones, like the hatchlings, 
you can grab with your hand; they're pretty harmless. 

The bigger ones take more caution, finesse, and duct 
tape, says 25-year-old Cord Eversole, a graduate student 
at A&M-Kingsville. 

09 -- We're real fortunate to be able to be involved in a study 
looking at reproduction - in particular - and how drought affects 
hatching success of the eggs.

He studies the reptiles in his role as a research assistant 
at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute.

22 -- A large majority of our data was collected through 
mark/recapture, and so we tagged roughly 250 alligators at 
Brazos bend SP, and then captured [them] a year later, so that we 
could look at how much they had grown in a year's time, and how 
the data that we gathered differs from data that was gathered in 
other parts of their range in the United States.

Thus far, his data reveals something rather unexpected. 
And we'll hear about that tomorrow.

The WSFR program supports our series and funds diverse 
conservation projects throughout Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I'm Cecilia Nasti.








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Maximum Script time:			0:45.0	 	 Suggested show time: 85.0 = 1:25