Gator Catchers, Feeling Insulted, Leave State

Gator wranglers from Florida have quit their search for an elusive 7-foot alligator in Harbor City’s Lake Machado after they were publicly ridiculed by a Hurricane Katrina evacuee brought in to help nab the reptile.

Thomas “T-Bone” Quinn described as “retarded” the methods used by the wranglers from Orlando-based Gatorland. He made his comments Saturday after being escorted by Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn to the park where the gator, dubbed Reggie, has lived for at least two months.

“I am not going to allow Gatorland to be referred to as ‘retarded,’ ” Gatorland team leader Ted Williams said Monday. “I will not allow some swamp rat to walk into a situation and make comments about Gatorland and this team. We conducted ourselves in a professional manner.”

Williams also said Hahn had played him “like a little puppet” for political purposes.

Hahn said Monday that she was surprised by Williams’ reaction. Quinn, a 47-year-old Gulf Coast pipe fitter who said he had killed other alligators, had apologized and the men seemed to be getting along, she said.

“I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have somebody else’s advice,” she said. “The only agenda I have is catching Reggie, and I thought this was an opportunity to give this evacuee something to do.”

The Gatorland team had spent the past week working quietly after dark, setting out bait, waiting in the swampy vegetation and cruising the 53-acre lake in canoes.

Quinn has not yet joined the hunt. City officials said they needed to do a background check and decide whether he could work without liability insurance. They also were worried by Quinn’s graphic descriptions of how he stabs alligators in the brain to kill them.

Hahn said Quinn has filled out paperwork to become a city volunteer, which will take care of insurance questions. Background checks appear to have come back clean, she said.

Quinn said he would abide by city rules to keep Reggie alive.

Wranglers from Florida and Colorado have tried for five weeks to catch Reggie, who was allegedly dumped in the lake by his former owner.

Some people, including Gatorland’s Williams, are suggesting that Reggie should be left alone.

Hahn said she may consider that option if it’s legal.

“I think we need to seriously consider the fact that he may not be caught,” she said.