[Not Afraid]

I was chatting with Ponine tonight and realized I was out of touch with my Gator world.

First, they DID catch the smaller Gator - Little Reggie

Animal control officers and professional alligator wranglers spent much of Wednesday trying unsuccessfully to catch the slippery, 3-foot (1 metre) reptile with a noose, only to have him duck repeatedly under the water and out of sight.



"It was almost like he was taunting the guy trying to catch him," Reagan said. "I think he thought they were playing because he would put the net on his nose and then go under.

"He's really calm," she said. "Everyone's making a big scare out of it but he's really friendly, he's just a baby. They approach him like he's harmful but he's not at all."

Then, it was reported that they DID catch the BIG Gator - Reggie



Wranglers Nab Elusive Urban Alligator In Los Angeles Lake



Reggie was supposed to be taken to the LA Zoo, but Reggie never showed.



It turns out the capture was a HOAX.

Elusive L.A. alligator remains on the loose

"To the best of my knowledge and all the reports I have received this morning, it was a hoax," said Ron Berkowitz, the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks superintendent, who supervises the area that includes the lake. "I called the zoo to verify, and the gator is not there. I called the rangers, the city council office and my staff at the lake. There was no capture."

Now, they've brought in some renegade wrangler and the people from Gatorland have left in a huff.

Gatorland team quits search for Reggie in a huff

Florida gator wranglers pulled out of town Monday, furious over the public ridicule they said they were forced to endure over the weekend when Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn brought in a big-talking Katrina evacuee to help catch a loose alligator in Harbor City.

Introduced through a Los Angeles Times reporter, Thomas "T-Bone" Quinn was escorted by Hahn to Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park on Saturday for introductions to the media. The councilwoman said she was "completely won over" when she first talked to the Louisiana evacuee staying temporarily at the Dream Center in Los Angeles. He said he wanted to "give back" to the city for giving him temporary housing and had a lifetime of experience catching alligators.
Heavily tattooed and boasting of his gator-wrangling abilities, Quinn showed up with camping gear and a movie agent in tow. He didn't waste any time hurling insults aimed at the Gatorland crew.

"I just hope I can keep Gatorland off my back," he was quoted as saying in the Los Angeles Times. "I ain't telling them nothing. That pontoon boat (they're using) is retarded."

This whole thing has gone way past my expectations.