MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — State wildlife officers say a headless, tailless alligator has appeared in a South Carolina creek in an apparent poaching case.
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News outlets report the gator carcass with its head and tail removed was found floating in Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant on Sunday.
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State Department of Natural Resources spokesman David Lucas says the investigation is difficult because the washed-up reptile remains are the only evidence. He says such cases rely a lot on information provided by the public.
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Alligators are a protected species, but a public hunt is held each fall under a law the state Legislature passed to control their population. A "depredation" exclusion permits killing them in private areas from September through May, but they must be buried, composted, burned or put in a landfill that accepts them.