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Hunter sets out to shoot ducks along the river; instead, he flushes out a 4-foot-long alligator
By: MIKE JOHNSON
 What Long thought was a snapping turtle slithering through the upper reaches of the Milwaukee River in Washington County was actually a nearly 4-foot-long alligator, which he promptly shot.
"At first, I thought it was turtle tail," said Long, 31, of Greenfield, who was in the river hunting for duck Saturday. "Then it turned and came back at me. I seen the eyes come up out of the water, but my brain didn't click. This is Wisconsin. There's not supposed to be gators in Wisconsin."
When the gator's eyes went back under the water, Long fired, hitting the reptile and leaving it stunned.
He called to his cousin and hunting partner, Chris Sagan of Milwaukee, who poked the alligator with a stick and ran when it moved.
"We both thought nobody is going to believe us. We made a decision to bring it back dead or alive, and more likely dead," Long said.
The 25-pound gator appeared to have died from a shot to the head. They dragged it to a field and headed to the home of their uncle, Herb Sagan, for help in bringing in their quarry.
Herb remembers his conversation with Chris Sagan:
"When they came up they said to me, 'Well, guess what we shot?' And I'm thinking duck. And he goes, 'No, think bigger,' " Herb Sagan said. "And I'm thinking you idiots didn't shoot a deer. I was like I'm going to smack you if you did. And he goes, 'No, no, think teeth.' I'm like OK, you shot a coyote. 'No.' A wolf? And he goes, 'Think Louisiana,' and I'm like, snake? He goes 'No, we shot a gator,' and I said BS."
"I thought they were playing a practical joke on me," Herb Sagan said.
So they headed out across Highway XX and toward the river at the mouth of Stoney Creek. "I see it laying in the field. I walked up and grabbed it. . . . As soon as I grabbed it by the tail, it started flopping and I jumped back 30 feet." The movement apparently was from the dead animal's nerves, Herb Sagan said.
"I'm still just absolutely 100% shocked. You've got a better chance of shooting a 30-point buck in Wisconsin than a gator."
Worried that Long may have broken some law, they called the state Department of Natural Resources violation hotline. They said a warden later called them and told them they were not in any trouble and had removed an invasive species from the river.
Warden Bill Mitchell confirmed Sunday that they had called the hotline and he called back to tell them there was no violation.
"I've been a warden for 33 years, and I've never heard of anything like it," he said of a hunter shooting an alligator.
Long and Herb Sagan suspect the gator was a pet and was released when it grew too big.
Alligators have popped up in Washington County before. In August 2006, two 4-foot-long alligators were found in the Rubicon River west of Hartford. Authorities believe those gators also were pets that got dumped.
In October 2005, police in the Dodge County village of Theresa shot a 2- to 3-foot alligator that was sunning itself on a bank along the Rock River.
Long said he is calling taxidermy shops to see if he can preserve the gator.
"I'd like to have it mounted," Long said. "Or at least get a belt or wallet out of it."
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