Saturday, May 23, 2009

Chopper, R. I. P.

Old age claims life of Chopper, famous pet alligator of south Forrest County | hattiesburgamerican.com | Hattiesburg American: "He was first spotted along the Chickasawhay River carrying a beaver in his mouth. Then for 51 years, he lived placidly in the pond of a Brooklyn family and became, in the process, a local phenomenon.

Now Chopper, the 11-foot long, 500-pound pet alligator, is mourned. He died at his home May 11 of what is presumed to be a case of old age.

Carness Archer Sr., captured the alligator in 1958. In a 1977 Hattiesburg American article, he explained that he had heard someone wanted to buy an alligator for $1,000. So he and a friend combed Black Creek and then the Chickasawhay before capturing one."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had to read it closely to find it was Brooklyn, Mississippi.

RIP Chopper

Jeff (of the other Brooklyn)

Cap'n Bob said...

The Crider manse is draped in black crepe today, I fear.

Anonymous said...

R.I.P Chopper
this dear and very loyal "gator" belonged to my great uncle Carnes. I can remember as a child visiting Chopper and feeding him fresh and frozen road kill. Gross i know, but hey what do you feed a pet alligator. My uncle shared stories about Chopper going to visit the Girls Dorm. at one time there were 51 Game and Fish officals lined up to see the famous Chopper, one from every state. he will be greatly missed and my family's stories will continue to be passed down. D of NM

Unknown said...

Thanks for stopping by. Chopper was a legend in his time.