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Monday, January 16, 2006

If you are not from...


...where my hubby is from or from somewhere purt' nearby, you are probably not aware of the existence of the creature known as the alligator gar.

The alligator gar is a nasty looking thing with serious armorlike scales and a mouth full of mean teeth. (Thus, the gar jaw is totemic to fishermen, like shark teeth to surfers or big cat claws to safari hunters. You can even get a pair of earrings made from the scales, if'n you want.)

They can get up to 300 lbs.

They can breathe for long periods out of water just fine.

And yes, people eat them. [I no longer would.*]

Gar balls are similar to Cajun boudin balls, but with the fish pickings (they are very bony) instead of pork sausage bits mixed with rice or potatoes and rolled in cornmeal, then deep fried.

Here is a pic a friend sent me today. I don't know where he got it. But I can't let it go unremarked.



This monstrosity was apparently captured in Lake Sam Rayburn, down in Southeast Texas. I am guessing these dudes followed the oft-repeated caution: "Never bring an alligator gar aboard unless you know for sure it's dead."

The snakehead might be ferocious (and still thriving in Queens), but the alligator gar has been rumored to occasionally take momentos. I think I'd prefer to be sucked dry by the chupacabra, myself.

So don't dangle your feet offa no piers!

*[This post has been modified because I have since gone vegan.]

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