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 - Life in Louisiana

When the History Channel created this show they really chose the runts out of the litter to follow, but who else would hunt alligators for a living anyway?  Not trying to be mean by saying that, just saying that what you see as coonass, cajun, southern boys, well, they are not all like that, just a few here and there, not everyone in this humid region is like that though. But it still can be quite the cultural shock if you have never been here before. I know it was for me, I have lived in this area for about 4 years now. Moved down here from a fairly large city in Oregon, it was like moving to another country for me.

CULTURAL SHOCK HAS SET IN

Well, the very first thing you will encounter when visiting the South, home of the Swamp People is the accent. It is one of the more harder things to overcome when visiting. My first encounter was at a McDonalds drive-thru. For the life of me I just could not understand what the woman was saying through the speaker, apparently when you ask for a coke down here they will in turn ask you  what kind, so 1st tip, when ordering make sure you are being very specific in your ordering techniques and God forbid if you ask for a pop, they will look at you like you are an extraterrestrial creature from another planet. I have put my "pop" phrases behind me and have moved on to something not so complex to order, like tea for instance. The accents are definitely hard to get use to, Louisiana in particular as you have seen depicted on the show. It would be so awesome if people here came with built in Closed Captioning, would make my life so much easier.

The Foods of Louisiana
Another thing that takes some getting use to is the food. I am a person that refuses to eat seafood, I don't know what it is, I just hate it, the smell, the texture, the way it all looks, just so unappetizing to me. I am a very picky eater so living here is especially hard for me, if you too are a picky eater tread lightly and learn to love fast food and cooking at home. Everyone around here eats fish of all kinds, rabbit (gross),turtle(ewwww),frog legs(.....),and of course alligator meat. Some of the more well known dishes are gumbo,jambalaya,oysters, fried catfish, and of course fried chicken (Popeye's says it all). A family event here usually revolves around a crawfish boil with spicy red potatoes and corn on the cob all with a kick, everyone cooks with hot sauce, if you don't have a bottle in your fridge how dare you.
Some of my favorite New Orleans style deserts would have to be Beignets and Pralines, if you have never tried them you are really missing out. If you are a coffee drinker and love a bold blend, a New Orleans style chicory is a perfect choice, it is VERY strong.

It's Getting HOT!

Remember last weeks episode where they had to wet a blanket and put over the alligators? Well, that's because of the heat here in Louisiana. They said on Swamp People they had to do that to keep the meat from going bad.

If you can't stand the heat, then this certainly isn't the place for you. I know in some places in the US you don't even need to own an air conditioner for the summer months, well I can assure you it is not like that here. Everyone has an air conditioner and anyone with a porch has outside ceiling fans attached to their porch. It really is that hot. Not only is it hot but boy is it humid! Go outside and you will instantly feel your skin getting sticky and feel your hair become damp and if you are wearing glasses or sunglasses, expect a light fog.

I know this post isn't exactly inspiring, but I really think everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime. Try some Gumbo, eat a beignet, drink a cup of chicory and sit outside and enjoy the hot weather. If Swamp People can do it, so can you!

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1.03.01

Last Night's Show

Pretty good episode last night. I must admit I felt pretty bad for that one guy, I think his name was Bud, the guy does great when hunting deer but for the life of him he just couldn't get a good shot on an alligator. He had his gun retrieved and was shown how to do it right. As said in the show by Tommy, you want to hit the soft spot on the back of his head, that soft spot is only the size of a quarter so precision is everything when taking a shot and apparently takes a lot of practice to master something like that. I am sure it is a lot different then hunting deer. You are faced with keeping your balance on a boat, taking aim at a an alligator flipping around in the dirty mucky water it can't be that simple and quite obviously isn't.

I found that to be the best part of last night's episode, not saying everything else wasn't good just that it didn't capture my interest as much as that part of the show did. What was your favorite part of last night's show?

September 5th 10/9c - Troy's Gamble

Tonights upcoming show will be about Troy desperately needing to find a new honey hole, a corner of the bayou teeming with gators. He thinks he's found one, but the rights to hunt it will cost him a lot of cash. He takes the risk--but will it pay off? Meanwhile, Joe and Tommy contend with their own greenhorn, a landlubber named Bud. Across the swamp, the Kliebard family shows they don't need the aid of computers or a factory--Mike engineers and builds a perfect aluminum boat from scratch, showing off his Cajun ingenuity and expertise.

So stay tuned for a personal review from yours truly, or you could just watch the show yourself.

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 - History about Cypress Lake

If you caught the episode Houdini's Last Escape on Swamp People, you saw Cypress Grove where they caught the big gator. Cypress Grove is a 2-acre swamp located in Lafayette, Louisiana. Located in the heart of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus that originally started as a buffalo wallow. Cypress Grove is a habitat for native irises, alligators ( of course), turtles, birds and fish, as well as a hangout for students and a point of interest for tourists visiting the area of  Lafayette, Louisiana. Cypress Lake is casually called The Swamp, which is also the nickname of the Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns stadium, named Cajun Field.


In prehistoric times, buffalo herds wandering through the area stopped in the shade of the cypress grove, pawing and stomping at the ground. Eventually a depression in the ground formed from the buffalo's. The grove, called a trou de taureau in Cajun French, or “bull hole,” began to retain water and form a pond.
UL Lafayette (est. 1900) grew up around the pond. Initially the university fenced it in to use as a pig pen and feeding area for its instructional farm. In the early 1920s, the pig pen was drained to return the 63 cypress trees into the newly named Cypress Grove. The university used the grove as an open-air theater for Shakespearean productions, music and dance programs. Commencement exercises were held beneath the cypress canopy in 1935 for the first time and several subsequent years when the weather permitted.
In the early 1940s, some agriculture faculty members proposed converting the grove back into a pond, because they were concerned a lack of water could harm the cypress trees. A pump was installed, the pond was refilled, and Cypress Grove became Cypress Lake.
An oak tree located south of Cypress Lake has a plaque paying tribute to Edwin Stephens, the first president of the university, which was then called Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute

Alternate theory about the lake

An alternate theory exists to explain why the grove was converted back to a small lake. This one is counter to the theory that the trees needed water. Either could be correct.
The differing view is that the university created the lake as a precautionary measure during World War II. Two women with strong ties to the university, Maria Mario Mamalakis and Vesta Bourgeois, participated in the oral history project in which their memories of Cypress Lake were recorded in the mid-’80s.
“People didn’t realize that we were so near the gulf and had a lot of German submarines in the gulf area,” said Mamalakis, explaining why the university decided to create the lake. “It was a worry that we could even be bombed. It was Cypress Grove for many years, but they were afraid that we might need extra water in case of fire if a bomb had been dropped on campus.” Bourgeois concurred, adding that female students filled the swamp and conducted fire drills.
“They realized that if the Germans came to the gulf south of Abbeville they would bomb not us, but the vulnerable place, Baton Rouge,” Bourgeois explained. “If they had to come back with bombs (in their airplanes), they would not go back to the ship, but would drop them at some vulnerable place, and Southwestern would have been one.
“So they began preparing for this type thing, and they saw that there was no water. So they put water (in the grove), and we began teaching girls at the gym bucket brigades. So we had ladders, and an obstacle course for the girls to run, realizing that all of our men went into the service, and the others were in the National Guard or volunteers, so that the women would have to do these sorts of things. That’s how Cypress Grove was filled. Not many people knew that.”
Although the grove was a popular gathering place and was even used as a lovers' lane, students accepted the swamp because it was part of the war effort, according to Bruce Turner, a UL Lafayette history professor and head of the special collections at Edith Garland Dupré Library.
“I’m sure if they made the case that it was being done for war preparedness, then for patriotic reasons, people would accept that,” Turner said. “It was right in the middle of World War II, and everyone was concerned. Everybody was willing to make sacrifices for the war.”

Swamp People - What the Show is All About

Swamp People on the History Channel Hits Big – “Swamp People,” a new popular reality series is spotlighting a number of families who live within America’s largest swamp. It is an interesting mix of a culture and nature lesson. For 30 days, the network will be following around swampers during their annual alligator hunt. Which you can be expecting another season of the show right around the corner consider the annual alligator hunting season is upon us. The network released a statement describing what they are attempting to do with their new series.

“It is a uniquely American story of a proud and skillful people fighting to maintain an ancient way of life in a rapidly modernizing world.”
The series debuted and received a good reception from fans and critics alike. They were able to kill a 13 foot “monster gator” on the program during a hunt in the cypress groves. Animal rights activists will likely have a problem with the show, but it goes to show how different certain areas of the United States are from one another. One of the hunters pointed out that a popular swimming hole and a popular vacation spot during the summer months in the area is just a few yards away from where they killed the alligator.

The show goes to show that living in the swamps can be very dangerous but also profitable if you play your cards right. The swamps  are a  completely different way of life. Some of them almost never leave the swamp other than to work, and a vast majority of them work in the swamp in some way. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the show pans out, and whether or not the network decides to do a second season of Swamp People. With the fans pouring in from all over, I don't think they will have much of a debate about the subject.