Three alligators in Alligator Bayou East of Baton Rouge, LA.
Urban sprawl in Baton Rouge is threatening the future of these prehistoric reptiles and their swamp. New residential development--planned communities-- have been spreading like wild fire surrounding the wetland area post-Katrina and already new residents are calling for the swamp to be drained. The alligators will have no where to go and will be rounded up and most likely shot. The politics are tricky and go way back, it looks like the alligators will loose their swamp.
It is a shame that state and federal lawmakers/ regulators do not see what is at stake here. Ecologically, the food chain is disrupted with untold consequences and the once delicate ecosystem is scarred permanently until long after the extinction of humans. Just look at the Lower 9th Ward, vegetation regains the neighborhood block after block deeper and thinker every single day.
It would take a serious private investor to stand up first and foot the bill for proper legal protection of the swamp. It's a cantaloupe for President Obama, too. Real change would be the reversal of fortune for southern Louisiana. Not to mention the tons of agro-waste sent from the mid-west and the miles of chemical refineries lining the Mississippi River-- the life source of that entire region-- no body is doing a damn thing to stop it.
Dead Zones, Superfund Sites , toxic Northerlies; the list of horror goes on and yet nothing towards actual turn around. It's sad.
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