Swimming With and Wrestling Gators ‘Ain’t No Thang’ for Father and Son XSight Winners

By Laura Burgess

To ATN’s X-Sight contest winners Derek Billiot and his son Lil’ Derek, wrestling alligators in the murky water of the bottomless Belle Chasse, Louisiana, swamps and zooming through the tall, ghostly cypress trees, while listening to the roar of the massive airboat fan, is as natural as sitting around a campfire and telling lies about “that fish that got away” is to most people.

“Look, I’ve had close calls, but you don’t understand who you’re talking to. I’ve been messing with alligators before Steve Irwin was on TV. I actually swim with alligators. You develop a bond with ‘em like you do with your dog or your cat. They all have different personalities. You learn which ones are safe and which ones aren’t. I may be crazy, but I’m not dumb; there are some huge gators that are pretty laid back and then there are some that are only three or 4 feet long that I won’t get in the water with because they have the wrong personality, if you know what I mean,” said Billiot.

The first time Billiot swam with an alligator was in 2002. He started out swimming with smaller …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand