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Applications for alligator harvest permits open today, including new Alligator Super Hunt

News Briefs / By

FLORIDA- The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) offers two alligator harvest opportunities: the Statewide Alligator Harvest Program and the new Alligator Super Hunt. Applications for both opportunities open Friday at 10 a.m. and may be submitted at any county tax collector’s office, license agent or online at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com. Random drawings are held to distribute all available alligator harvest permits. Those awarded a permit will be automatically charged for an alligator trapping license and two hide validation tags, but those possessing an alligator trapping license that is valid through Dec. 31, 2024, will not be automatically charged for a license. A hunting license is not required to participate in either the Alligator Super Hunt or the Statewide Alligator Harvest Program.

Alligator Super Hunt

New this year, the Alligator Super Hunt offers a flexible alternative to the traditional statewide hunt. Each permit allows the harvest of two alligators from most alligator management units and private property (with owner permission) from Aug. 15 – Dec. 31. Hunters pay a nonrefundable $5 fee for each application and may apply as many times as they want between 10 a.m. ET May 3 through 11:59 p.m. June 3. Applying multiple times will increase the chance of being drawn. This year, 100 permits will be awarded.

Applications for alligator harvest permits open today, including new Alligator Super Hunt Read More »

Yellow-bellied slider turtles, like the one seen here in the FWC photo, can be infected with TFV1, according to FWC.

FWC Launches Online Reporting Tool to Help Combat Deadly Turtle Virus

Astatula, Clermont, Eustis, Fruitland Park, Groveland, Howey-in-the-Hills, Inside Scoop, Lady Lake, Leesburg, Mascotte, Minneola, Montverde, Mount Dora, Tavares, Umatilla / By

LAKE COUNTY, Fla.—The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has launched a public reporting tool to help in its research on a virus that is killing Florida freshwater turtles.

FWC has been studying turtle fraservirus (TFV1) since 2018 and is now asking the public to report any sick or dead turtles to help them combat and understand this deadly virus. TFV1 has been found in Lake County, in addition to several other counties in Central Florida, but it could be present throughout the state, FWC warns; it has been identified in softshells, cooters, sliders and snapping turtles.

Signs a turtle could be infected:

  • Appears sluggish, unresponsive or reluctant to flee.
  • Stays in shallow water or beached on banks for prolonged periods of time.
  • Head and neck outstretched flat along the ground.
  • Sunken, swollen crusty and/or cloudy eyes.
  • Reddened skin on head, neck, limbs or bottom of shell.
  • Swims irregularly (sideways, in circles or is unable to submerge)

  • Sick sofshell turtles are slow and lethargic. PHOTO: FWC

In 2021, FWC enacted an executive order prohibiting unpermitted taking and transporting of softshell turtles and yellow-bellied sliders to reduce the spread of TFV1, Turtles should not be captured and transported to a new location even if they seem healthy.

To report a dead or sick turtle, click here.

FWC Launches Online Reporting Tool to Help Combat Deadly Turtle Virus Read More »

PHOTO: FWC

Gopher Tortoise in 5-Gallon Bucket Lands Eustis Man in Jail

Eustis, Inside Scoop / By

EUSTIS, Florida—A Eustis man was arrested by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Saturday morning for possessing a gopher tortoise—a threatened wildlife species— he was keeping in a five-gallon bucket, according to an arrest affidavit.

FWC received a call that a person on McDonald Street in Eustis was in possession of a possible gopher tortoise. An FWC officer responded to the apartment and Edrick L. Acres, 53, admitted he had the tortoise and showed the officer a five-gallon bucket that contained the tortoise, the affidavit states.

FWC took possession of the tortoise to return it to the wild and told Acres stay seated in a chair he was sitting in while the officer finished his paperwork in his truck. When the officer returned, Acres was gone. His mother said he went to a nearby store and FWC, with the assistance of Eustis Police Department, apprehended Acres about a block away on Clifford Avenue.

Acres was taken into custody, searched and found with a small bag of marijuana. He was arrested for possession of marijuana, possession of a gopher tortoise and resisting arrest. He was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was released on $2,500 bond.

Gopher Tortoise in 5-Gallon Bucket Lands Eustis Man in Jail Read More »

PHOTO: City of Leesburg

FWC Releases Name of Man Found in Lake Griffin Tuesday

Inside Scoop, Leesburg / By

LEESBURG, Florida— The man found in Lake Griffin Tuesday has been identified, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC.)

Around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office reported finding an empty boat on Lake Griffin near Herlong Park in Leesburg, FWC Public Information Officer Chad Weber told Inside Lake.

FWC responded to the scene and the body of an adult male was found in the water nearby where the empty boat was found, and Leesburg Fire Rescue recovered the body of Thomas G. Eichelberger, 80. Eichelberger was brought to the boat ramp, where he was pronounced deceased and then turned over to the medical examiner.

“This is an active investigation and there is no further information at this time,” Weber said. “Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the friends and family of Mr. Eichelberger.”

FWC Releases Name of Man Found in Lake Griffin Tuesday Read More »

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