Swamp People has Taken Over History Channel

With the August 2010 premiere of Swamp People, the History Channel moved a little further away from its core programming and onto newer findings. Following the success of the channel's other original reality shows like Pawn Stars and American Pickers, Swamp People represents an even greater departure for the history-themed network.
The programming shift has been very successful. Pawn Stars has been wildly successful in the ratings, American Pickers has spawned a British copycat, and the series premier of Swamp People shot the History Channel to the number one spot in cable ratings for the time slot. This is mostly due because History Channel has decided to go out of the box and push the envelope in this series following hunters who kill, skin, and eat not only alligators, they also kill snakes and bull frogs to eat for dinner. Watching these cajuns is like stepping back in time. From watching them kill, skin, and eat their kill. Its a way of life for them and how they make their living while also keeping the overwhelming alligator population down.

History of Louisiana’s Cajuns in Atchafalaya Swamp

Louisiana’s Cajun people originated from French settlers in Acadia, Canada. After the onset of the French Indian war in 1755, Great Britain drove French settlers from Acadia during what is now called Le Grand Derangement, or The Great Upheaval. About 3,000 Acadians fled to Louisiana, one of the last French settlements in America at the time.
The rich natural resources of the million-acre Atchafalaya River Basin allowed the new settlers to maintain an existence similar to their former lives in Acadia. The settlers eked out a living raising livestock, hunting and fishing. Many of the 180,000 Acadian descendants, now called Cajuns, still follow this traditional lifestyle.
Format of History Channel's Swamp People Reality Show
The show follows a handful of these Cajuns as they embark on their annual alligator hunt during the month-long hunting season. For most Americans, the swamp seems to be a harsh, uninhabitable environment. The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called it “the forest primeval.” Bruce Mitchell, who runs the Kleibert Turtle and Alligator Farm, calls it “my piece of heaven down here.”
The show depicts the ingenuity and strength of the Cajun people. While the month-long alligator hunt can provide most of a family's annual income, swamp-dwellers must find multiple ways to make a living. None has done this more successfully than Albert "Butch" Knight, who, in addition to gator hunting, builds boats, welds, and owns his own trucking company. Others can been seen farming, fishing, shrimping, trying to attract tourists, or offering services to other hunters. For some, life is a constant scramble find steady sources of income.
The program shows the deep love the Cajuns have for their land and way of life. Patriarchs Troy Landry and Joe LaFont (Trapper Joe) have raised their children to follow in their footsteps. Joe’s stepson, Tommy Chauvin, has been his right-hand man in the swamp since Tommy was in the first grade. In some ways, Swamp People is about how traditions are maintained and passed on to the next generation.

Controversy Surrounding Swamp People ( This will apply to some of my readers as I have received numerous comments)
There is some controversy surrounding the show. Swamp People represents a programming change that could cost the History Channel its most loyal viewers. While it is clear that the Cajuns depicted have a rich cultural history and strong traditions, there’s little attempt to show the history of those connections. Primarily, the show depicts swamp-dwellers trying to kill or exploit alligators and other animals.
Viewers may also be concerned about the animal cruelty documented the show. While alligators are vicious hunters, and the population must be contained, the methods of hunting them are brutal. The alligators are often baited in unattended traps. When a gator snags the bait, it becomes hooked. The animal is then trapped, impaled live on a hook for hours, until the hunters come to shoot it. Often, it takes several shots to kill the animal.
Despite these issues, Swamp People is an intriguing show that should continue to do well on the History Channel. The program has a sense of integrity that is absent in other shows. Viewers get the sense that this reality show is real. It depicts a way of life that is uniquely American, but virtually unknown outside of the Louisiana swamps. Swamp People serves as a reminder of the great cultural diversity that defines America.
Swamp People viewers: comment on the show in the space at the end of this article.
History Channel fans may also want to read American Pickers and Chasing Mummies: The History Channel's 

6974a54a-3475-4ced-93dc-4f5ae5cfaeb8

1.03.01

Cannibal Gator 9/12/2010 10/9c

Cannibal Gator

Premiere Date: 09/12/2010 10/9c

Catch the latest episode tomorrow night of Swamp People. Sounds like this episode will be interesting and it sounds like their season may be nearing the end of the 1 month allotment. I can't wait to watch it! Let everyone here know what you thought of the episode as I will put my two sense in on it after I have watched it.

Alligators are among the most territorial of animals, and won't hesitate to eat smaller gators that wander into their feeding grounds. Joe and Tommy come up against the notorious cannibal gator they call "Godzilla," when they discover smaller gators on their bait lines scarred with bite marks. Meanwhile, Mike and Troy face different battles. Mike's trying to pass down his vast swamp knowledge to his son T-Mike, while Troy's lines are empty, putting his season in jeopardy.

Swamp People and the Atchafalaya Swamp

Sprawling over a million-acre swath of southern Louisiana, the Atchafalaya River Basin is the largest swamp in the United States and one of the country's most ecologically varied regions. Its wetlands, bayous and marshes are home to 300 species of birds, 90 species of fish, shellfish and 54 species of reptiles and amphibians, including the famous American alligator. It owes much of its haunting and mysterious beauty to the towering, moss-draped bald cypress trees that thrive in the swamp waters.
For hundreds of years, the Basin's human dwellers (swamp people)—from the Native Americans who harvested its timber to the present-day Cajuns who hunt alligators in the swamps murky depths—have subsisted on its many bountiful resources. In the second half of the 18th century, the region became a refuge for several thousand French colonists who had been expelled from Acadie, part of present-day Nova Scotia, for refusing to swear allegiance to the British crown and church. Known as the Acadians, the settlers adapted their way of life to the changeable nature of the Basin's wetland environment, where water levels fluctuate depending on the season, by favoring houseboats and campsites to more permanent homes. Many began growing sugarcane and other crops in the fertile bayou soil, while other swamp people made a living as loggers, hunters, trappers or fishermen.

The Acadian community grew and prospered, eventually giving birth to the distinctly Louisianan "Cajun" culture, known throughout the world for its food, jazz music and unique dialect. Today, the Cajuns make up a significant part of southern Louisiana's population, and many continue to embrace the lifestyle and traditions of their ancestors.
In spite of the region's natural bounty and unmistakable splendor, swamp living has never been easy for the Cajuns and other residents of the Atchafalaya Basin. For instance, the disastrous Great Flood of 1927 decimated many communities, sparking a mass exodus that dramatically reduced the region's population. But to many people born and raised in the cradle of the lush and majestic Atchafalaya, the dangers and challenges they face are an accepted–and even welcome–part of life.

Swamp People

So now there is a reality show on the History Channel called Swamp People. This show depicts life as an alligator hunter in the swamps of Louisiana. So I bet your wondering, why would you hunt an alligator? I asked the same thing a few years back before I moved to swamp territory. Simply put, they hunt alligators to lower the population, for the alligator meat (yes, people actually eat the stuff. Supposedly it tastes like chicken), and they hunt and sell them for the alligators skin. For one month out of the year people are allowed to hunt alligators. The state of Louisiana issues tags for the hunters, every alligator killed no matter the weight or length has to be tagged, once you are out of tags that's the end of the season for you. The heavier and longer the alligator is, the more it is worth. It was said on the first airing of the show that a hunter can make half a years salary from one month out hunting alligators.

Now you're probably sitting around wondering how to get your hands on a boat and some swamp get-up, but don't go dashing to the swamps yet. This definitely isn't a job for everyone. Alligator hunting is very dangerous but is also needed to keep the population down. If it wasn't for the hunters places like, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi would be over ran with these sharp toothed prowlers. Like I said though not a job for everyone, you need to have your wits about you when wrestling one of these creatures, watch out for the strong chompers and whipping tale, they can be huge and definitely angry when you enter their domain. Don't get knocked out of your boat either, then you will be facing alligator infested waters along with all the venomous and deadly water snakes. Hey, nobody said making money was easy.


If you saw the first episode of Swamp people you caught how a father and step-son exited their boat to find the hooked alligator, the step son went to shoot the alligator as the alligator was racing towards them, he fired and missed and fired again only to discover there were no bullets left. Now that right there is a situation you don't want to find yourself in. Facing an alligator without something to defend yourself with is a sure fire way to get really hurt or possible killed.

So how do they hook them? Well, alligators love rotting meat, yep good old rotting, stinking, raw meat. The smellier the better. An alligator can get a whiff of the rotting meat from quite a ways away and come right to it, when they go to swallow the meat, they get hooked. When the hunters make their way back to the traps they will pull the lines while someone else is standing by ready to shoot. A sure way to kill a gator is a shot right square on the head. Hey, I never said it would be pretty either.

To obtain a license to hunt alligators will cost $25 for a resident of Louisiana and $150 for non Louisiana residents. As found on the Louisiana Alligator Advisory Council site states:

An alligator hunter license applicant must submit the following:

• a completed alligator hunter license application form including the hunter’s information (name, dob, ss#, etc.),
• proof of property ownership (tax receipts or bill of sale) containing Parish, Township, Range, Section and acreage information,
• a map outlining the property to be hunted, and
• a landowner’s signature indicating permission for the hunter to harvest alligators on the property.
• If applicable a legal alligator hunting lease may be submitted.

People not possessing or having permission to hunt alligators on property can harvest alligators as an alligator sport hunter while accompanied by a guide. A guide must be an alligator hunter possessing tags. Alligator Sport Hunter License cost $25 for Louisiana residents and $150 for non-residents.

There are a reported 1.5 million alligators located in the state of Louisiana. Now you see the need for harvesting, right? Louisiana alligator hunters currently harvest over 33,000 wild alligators and farmers harvest over 280,000 farm-raised alligators annually. Raw meat and hide values are estimated at over $10 million for the wild harvest and over $33 million for the farm harvest in 2005. (Note these values consist of raw meat and hides only and are not reflective of hide values after tanning and product manufacturing, values associated with jobs, tourism, economy, etc. or egg values.)



 There is way more to it then what the show Swamp People depicts. It is definitely a good show just to give you an idea of what life is like in the swamp lands of Louisiana.