Applications to get an alligator hunting license in Arkansas are opening soon. Here’s everything you need to know.

Credit: AGFC

Author: Elizabeth Godinez

Published: 4:48 PM CDT June 12, 2025

Updated: 4:48 PM CDT June 12, 2025

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — While hunting season for the largest reptile inhabiting Arkansas is still months away, anyone who wants to have a shot at a Natural State gator on any public land should get their application in soon!

According to officials with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC), applications for the 2025 alligator hunting season here in Arkansas will be available at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 15, 2025, through midnight on Monday, July 15, 2025.

Hunters in the state will be able to choose one of 10 public land hunting areas, which are all situated in the southern half of the state.

Avid gator hunters may see a notable difference in this year’s permit hunts, as a new quota system is in place for hunters who draw a permit to hunt Millwood Lake in southwest Arkansas. 

“We have seen success rates from hunters on Millwood ranging from 25 to 75 percent the last few years, and most of the unfilled tags are the result of hunters holding out for a huge alligator and running out of time,” said Amanda Bryant, AGFC Herpetologist. “Even though our target number of alligators to be removed is unchanged, we increased the number of permits slightly to allow a few more hunters an opportunity to hunt. To ensure that we do not overharvest alligators in this public hunting area, Millwood will also have a quota in place. Hunters will need to call in or check agfc.com before hunting each night to see if the quota has been met. If the quota is reached before the season ends, hunting in Millwood will be over. 

She hopes that the addition of the quota will encourage hunters to harvest a legal alligator instead of holding out for a larger one that they may or may not find later on.

The following hunts are available for the 2025 hunting season:

Alligator Management Zone 1:

• 12 permits for Millwood Lake (nine alligator quota)
• Five permits for Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois D’Arc WMA
• Two permits for Little River
• One permit for Lake Erling
• Alligator Management Zone 2
• One permit for Bragg Lake
• Two permits for Lake Columbia
• Alligator Management Zone 3
• 11 permits for the Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Arkansas River backwaters near Arkansas Post)
• Two permits for Yellow Lake (Pine Bluff Arsenal)
• Five permits for The Delta Wetland Complex

Each permit given authorizes the harvest of one alligator, which must be at least four feet long.

Alligator hunting is allowed from 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise during the approved alligator hunting season dates of September 19-22 and September 26-29, 2025.

Each person who has a permit may have up to three helpers with them on the hunt, but only the permit holder is allowed to harpoon, snare, and dispatch the alligator.

Only Arkansas residents can apply for a license to hunt alligators, and they must be at least 16 years old on the day the hunt begins.

Officials say that applicants who have 18 or more AGFC violation points are not eligible to apply.

Alligator hunt applicants must pay a $5 nonrefundable processing fee at the time of their application, and all must go through an online hunt orientation before going out.

9 hours agoShare https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdr58enrmyko

A peregrine falcon fledging in Glasgow has died after contracting bird flu.

The young falcon, named after the character Jack from the TV comedy Still Game, hatched on the rooftop of the University of Glasgow tower in April alongside his sibling Victor.

He took unwell at the start of the week, when volunteers at the Glasgow Peregrine Project observed him acting subdued and not eating.

After a rescue project saw Jack lifted from his nest on Wednesday, the SSPCA determined he needed to be put down to ease his suffering.

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Jack and Victor’s parents, Bonnie and Clyde, have nested on the rooftop of the university tower each spring since 2022.

Jack and Victor hatched on 27 April, and initially seemed in good health.

However Jack’s condition steadily worsened after first taking ill, including not responding when Clyde attempted to feed him.

The Glasgow Peregrine Project provided updates on the bird after he first seemed unwell.

They later posted: “It is with sadness that we must report that after pulling out all the stops and effecting a rescue, Jack has passed away.

“The University of Glasgow and all the project team have monitored him through the night and worked throughout the day to put the rescue plan in place.

“Work that would ordinarily be done in a month was done in a day to expedite Jack’s care.

“The SSPCA assessed Jack and deemed that he had likely contracted bird flu and sadly, had to put him down to ease his suffering.”

The project will now carry out round the clock monitoring of the rest of the family to monitor their health.

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Meet Glasgow’s new peregrine falcon chicks – Jack and Victor

Four falcon chicks hatch in Glasgow university tower

Kate Green

June 11, 2025Share https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360720833/bodies-four-weasels-found-inside-zealandia-eco-sanctuary

Four unwanted visitors have weaselled their way into Wellington eco-sanctuary Zealandia in the past week.

The first dead weasel was found on Saturday afternoon, when a member of the public alerted the team to a fresh body in a DOC200 trap within the fence.

Rangers cleared and reset the trap, and another weasel was found in the same trap the next day. A third weasel was discovered in another trap on Monday, and a fourth on Tuesday.

These traps had been set after a tree fell onto the fence in May, and it was possible the weasels had got in during the storm, with these animals able to get through tiny holes only a thumb-width in diameter.

General manager for conservation and restoration Jo Ledington said: “We don’t know exactly how these weasels entered the valley but as they have not shown up on any of the detection devices deployed for the fence damage, the bodies were fresh and the traps had recently been checked and rebaited, we don’t think they have been inside the fence for long.”

She said there was a “complex and layered biosecurity system in place, including motion-activated cameras, tracking tunnels, detection dogs, and a comprehensive trapping network”.

There was no evidence these weasels had killed any of the sanctuary’s wildlife.

“This is exactly what our conservation team is trained for. We’re prepared for events like this, and our systems are doing their job. We will be continuing with our response until we are confident there are no further weasels in the sanctuary.”

Before this, the last time a weasel was found dead in a trap was August 2024, and before that was October 2023, and then back as far as 2019.