Alligator applications pouring in

Dustin Bockman of Vicksburg with the 13-foot, 4-inch, 727-pound gator taken during the 2013 Mississippi alligator hunting season on the Mississippi River.

4,350 apply during first four days of weeklong period

Alligator hunters have been busy this week trying to snag permits through the online application process conducted by Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

By 4 p.m. Thursday, program coordinator and alligator biologist Ricky Flynt said nearly 4,350 unique applicants had applied, and apparently those people will go anywhere they have to to hunt.

Flynt reported that the applicants had signed up for 17,666 zone applications. Each applicant can apply in as many of the seven zones as desired, but the limit is one entry per zone.

The number of applications per zone range from a low of 1,789 to a high of 3,057.

Of the seven zones, five have 150 permits available, while the northwest has only 100 and Barnett Reservoir 70.

A total of 920 permits are available for the second year for a statewide hunt.

Prospective hunters can only apply online at mdwfp.com. The application process began at 12:01 on Monday, and it will end Monday (June 9) at midnight.

The public water season is Aug. 29-Sept. 8.

About Bobby Cleveland 1340 Articles
Bobby Cleveland has covered sports in Mississippi for over 40 years. A native of Hattiesburg and graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Cleveland lives on Ross Barnett Reservoir near Jackson with his wife Pam.

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