Dupre is Morgan City's go-to guy for gator removal

During the past few weeks, alligators have started showing up at area businesses and homes, which law enforcement officials say is due to high water and warming temperatures.
Danny Dupre, who was appointed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to catch nuisance alligators, said he’s been removing nuisance alligators across St. Mary Parish and in lower St. Martin Parish for six years. Dupre gets paid by selling the hide of alligators 6 feet and longer, he said. He catches and releases the smaller alligators.
He caught two small alligators Monday afternoon at New Industries in Morgan City. One gator was in the shop and one was right outside the shop, he said. Dupre found the gator, inside the shop, in a hole below the concrete under a pipe rolling machine, Dupre said.
Dupre, who lives near Baldwin, said the recent heavy rainfall and warmer weather are causing alligators to start moving around and feeding.
During the past two weeks, Dupre received 15 calls reporting nuisance alligators in St. Mary Parish. He doesn’t receive any calls during the winter because the gators aren’t active.
According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries website, the department licenses about 65 alligator hunters across the state to capture nuisance alligators.
The department receives more than 2,200 nuisance alligator complaints each year. Roughly 3,000 nuisance alligators are harvested annually, according to the website.
In the summer of 2014, Dupre caught more than 100 nuisance gators.
He visits Lake End Park in Morgan City frequently to catch alligators because park officials don’t want any gators on the park premises.
Business owners also call Dupre often because “it’s just not safe for the workers,” he said.
Dupre expects alligators to continue to get more active as the temperatures warm up.
“They’re going to start moving a lot now. And they’ll pop up just about anywhere,” Dupre said.
Dupre has found alligators under people’s houses nowhere near any bodies of water, he said.
Morgan City Police Spokesman Capt. James Blair said police received a couple calls Monday morning of people reporting small alligators.
“It’s been pretty much a daily occurrence here over the last couple weeks,” Blair said.
If people come into contact with an alligator, they should contact the Police Department, which in turn contacts Dupre, Blair said.
Police do catch and release alligators, small enough for officers to handle, away from an inhabited area, Blair said. Morgan City Police can be reached at 985-380-4605.
St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office Spokeswoman Traci Landry said the office received a report Saturday of an alligator on Grace Street in the grass near the playground of the Siracusa Recreation Center in Siracusaville.
On Monday, a 5-foot alligator was reported on South Railroad Avenue in the Morgan City area, Landry said. Workers at the site ended up relocating the gator, Landry said. Deputies have the discretion to decide whether they want to handle the alligators themselves or let Wildlife and Fisheries respond to the reports, Landry said.

This story was written by Zachary Fitzgerald of The Daily Review staff. Reach him at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com