'Swamp Men' wrangle gators, hogs on new TV show

Ed Woods says even a dead alligator can be dangerous.

Woods, park director at Billie Swamp Safari in the Everglades, says he was barefoot when he stepped on a dead gator and got an infection that put him in the hospital.

But the gators he deals with in National Geographic's new "Swamp Men" series are very much alive.

One that is 6 feet long has to be removed from the park's airboat dock in the first episode.
In the second episode, Woods and his crew chase after a 9-foot rogue crocodile, nicknamed "Houdini" because he has eluded them for 12 years.

The third episode has them trying to corral a black bear that has been raiding the food storage area.

Produced by Guy Nickerson of Tampa-based Spectrum Productions, "Swamp Men" follows the colorful Woods, a Polk County native, Marine and outdoorsman, and his crew as they manage the animals on display at 2,200-acre wildlife park in the middle of the Everglades between Naples and Fort Lauderdale.

They also have to "manage" the native critters than reside in the wild.

The park, owned by the Seminole tribe, is home to more than 1,500 animals including wild hogs, panthers, bears, gators, rattlesnakes, bison, water buffalo, raccoons, exotic birds and even chickens (Woods' favorite animal because "it gives back every day and when the eggs stop, you can eat it.")

"Swamp Men" debuts 10 tonight on National Geo Wild (148 on Bright House Networks and 132 on Verizon FiOS).

"Our job is to keep the tourists and the animals safe," Woods said in a telephone interview. "And that usually means relocating intruders without injuring the animal, the tourists or ourselves."

Woods' crew includes veteran park workers Paul Simmons and Lawrence Settel and newbies in training, Shea Hayley and Matt McLean.The park is home to the majority of the 80 to 90 endangered Florida panthers in the wild, says Woods, who has worked there for 18 years.

"I want people who watch this to see my Florida, the Florida I grew up with and one that is disappearing," he says. "Most people have never seen a Florida panther. I hope people will be inspired to be keeper's of the Earth.

"We have more than 150,000 visitors every year in the park and we have swamp buggy and airboat tours," he says. "We have some big gators here, ones that can take off an arm or a leg but I think the rattlers are the most dangerous animals here."

There have been accounts of large pythons invading the Everglades but Woods says the only python he has seen was dangling from an alligator's mouth."

The park is on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, between Fort Lauderdale and Naples off of Interstate 75 (at exit 49) then north 19 miles.

The park also has snake and alligator shows, swamp critter shows, nature trail, animal and reptile exhibits, day packages and overnight stays in authentic thatched roof chickees.
The four-episode series will air on Mondays through this month.