Louisiana Gators go way back at Cypress Lake

[Steve Gossen]

There were alligators in the Late 50's for sure.

Two friends of mine were able to capture a small one about 36" and put it in another guy's locker. This was all done in the cloak of darkness about 11 pm, in Brown Ayres Hall which fire later destroyed.

The next morning when the guy opened his locker all hell broke loose with one ____ed off alligator and an extremely surprised architectural student. The alligator was finally captured and returned to Cypress Lake.

The campus cops and the entire architecture faculty did everything they could to bring the culprits to justice but nothing ever came of it so it is, as of this date, considered a "cold case".

Naturally there are several who know the whole story. Maybe some day they will fess up their deeds which by now seem interesting and even creative which, after all, are key qualities for an architect.

[Turbine]

Originally posted by kawlija1
There were alligators in the Late 50's for sure.

By 1975 the front cover of Louisiana's Acadien Yearbook imprinted with a picture of Cypress Lake/Swamp and 25% alligator hide. The back cover was 100% alligator hide simulation.

For UL’s gator population to exert this type of influence, they would have to have been a fixture for the years you mentioned.

[NewsCopy]

If you can't get out into the swamps at this time of year, the next-best place to see Louisiana iris in bloom may be at the little cypress-shaded lake in the heart of the University of Louisiana campus.

A really long time ago, buffalo herds wandering through the area stopped in the shade of the cypress grove, pawing and stomping at the ground. Eventually, the pawing and stomping caused a depression to form. It filled with water and became what was called in Cajun French a trou de taureau, a "bull hole."

A university eventually grew up around the little pond, and, until about 1918, the area was fenced in and used as a pen and feeding area for the pigs raised on the college's instructional farm.

The farm was moved from the main campus in the early 1920s, and the former pig pen was drained and dried and became Cypress Grove.

In the early 1940s, some College of Agriculture faculty members thought that water should be put back into the pond, because they were afraid that a lack of water would hurt the cypress trees. According to an account by the late T.J. Arceneaux, then dean of the College of Agriculture, "everything was being conserved during those (World War II) years," and the faculty members thought the area could serve as a water reservoir, in case something should happen to the regular water supply.

A pump was installed, the pond was refilled, and Cypress Grove became the Cypress Lake we know today.

Link broken

Jim Bradshaw
jbradshaw@theadvertiser.com
289-6315


RaginPagin.com Photo

[Turbine]

[Turbine]

This Cypress Tree on the University of Louisiana Campus is well over 100 year old. Exact age unknown.

Lets just say this Cypress tree was standing when UL played its first home game in 1901 and is located in cypress Swamp a mere 35 yards from where the 1st home football game was played.

Notice the young Bull Gator in the picture.

[Pirogue]

Notice the young Bull Gator in the picture.

Can you imagine the home field advantage we'd have if our field had several feet of water... multiple cypress knees... and some docile alligators....

[LuLu]

That was just beautiful. I felt that I was there! Thank you for posting. We have such a treasure, right in the middle of campus! AWESOME!

[Turbine]

I went to Cypress Swamp over the weekend . . .

Spotted 3 Gators . . . zero peppers.

[Turbine]

University of Louisiana Cypress Swamp on campus.

[NewsCopy]

A territorial mother alligator has forced the temporary closure of an area surrounding Cypress Lake on the University of Louisiana campus.

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Link broken

[RedBug58]

We were out there a few weeks ago and saw the alligator crushing all of the foliage down right next to the chain link fence. You could go right up to the fence, within a few inchs of the critter and watch it build the nest. It was an unusual sight. We were thinking when the little ones hatched they could easily crawl right through the fence. Has this ever happened before in Cypress Lake??

[raoul]

A territorial mother alligator has forced the temporary closure of an area surrounding Cypress Lake on the University of Louisiana campus.

Where's the daddy?

[DaddyCajun]

We were out there a few weeks ago and saw the alligator crushing all of the folage down right next to the chain link fence. You could go right up to the fence, within a few inchs of the critter and watch it build the nest. It was an unusual sight. We were thinking when the little ones hatched they could easily crawl right through the fence. Has this ever happened before in Cypress Lake??

Not sure but what will they(UL) do with all those lil gators? Will they watch them grow up and shoot a reality show called, "All dem lil Gator Pups." or shoot a new series of Swamp People Cajun Style on The Louisiana Swamp!!! And you could hear Troy say, "Choot em Katheryn, Choot em!!!"

[NewsCopy]

Look but don’t touch.

That’s what University of Louisiana officials are asking of students and onlookers eager to catch a glimpse of a mama alligator guarding a nest of eggs on campus.

She laid the eggs close to a sidewalk bordering Cypress Lake, which is actually a wetland managed by the University.

The area’s been closed off for the gator’s safety and to protect the eggs, said Joey Pons, director of Environmental Health and Safety at UL.

He consulted with Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries officials, who assured him the alligator can’t bite through a chain link fence it is nested behind.

“For safety’s sake, because it’s so close to a high traffic area, we called wildlife officials and they’ve assured us she won’t get aggressive unless provoked or threatened,” Pons said. “We just ask that onlookers respect the natural process.”

Pons estimated the eggs, first noticed last week, should hatch in about seven weeks.

“We’re not sure how many there are, but wildlife officials said there could be as many as 100 here and it takes 60 days for the eggs to incubate.”

UL Press

[DaddyCajun]

I like learning facts about wildlife like 100 eggs at a time, not many survive, 60 days to hatch, kinda like the wild kingdom at UL.