Beech Tree News Network

Sometimes, despite other plans, a life takes on a life of its own.  You might say that’s what happened to Butler County couple, Tommy Hines, Sr. and his wife, Gingie Hurst Hines.  Married in 1958, the couple lived in the local area until 1965, when they and their sons moved to Louisiana.  Tommy, who had finished his BS at WKU, received his MS degree in Wildlife at LSU.  Shortly after, he accepted a job with Florida Fish and Wildlife in the Florida Everglades. 

  At the time, alligators were on the endangered species list.  The department hired Tommy to research the species in order to determine if that designation was accurate.  The subsequent findings would remove alligators from that list.  There was interest at the time in farming alligators for their meat and skins.  Tommy was part of the team that studied the effect that removing some of the eggs from nests would have on the alligator population.  

The team started by removing 50% of the eggs from known nests.  The removal did not affect the alligator population at all.  That might seem unbelievable until you take into account that many of the hatchlings would be taken by predators or be faced with sharing food or not as likely to be protected by the mother.  According to nationalgeographic.com, young alligators stay with their moms for up to two years.  The average nest, called a clutch, contains about 30 eggs.  It stands to reason that the female gator would have an easier and more successful time guarding 15 rather than 30 young.

After alligators were removed from the endangered lists, small landowners in the area attempted to raise alligators that would raise young in captivity.  It was a resounding failure.  The eggs did not produce the number or size of alligators that were produced in the wild.  The farmers pivoted to collecting wild eggs and incubating them.  The Florida Fish and Wildlife department still considers 50% of the eggs to be a surplus.  Afterall, the department receives from 10 to 15,000 nuisance complaints per year involving the large reptiles.

After retiring from his job with Fish and Wildlife in the 1990s, Tommy decided to go into business as a wildlife consultant.  That business became a springboard for Tommy, along with wife, Gingie, to begin collecting wild eggs to sell to local alligator ranchers.  They started by collecting a few hundred, then worked their way up to a business that was running 3 airboats, a collection boat and a helicopter, collecting as many as 10,000 eggs in a year’s time.  The eggs on average sold for $25 apiece.  They did a 60/40 split with the landowners where the nests were located.  Like any business, prices fluctuate.  During one period, when a few large fashion industries decided to push out the little guys, eggs were going for $55 apiece.  

In January of this year, Tommy lost his wife, Gingie.  He still collects eggs, albeit on a smaller scale.  Tommy is quick to credit Gingie with being there for him in every situation.  He reflects that it is hard to imagine that Gingie, who was raised by a single mom, in town, would end up in the middle of the Florida Everglades.

He tells the story of the time when he, Gingie and their crew were gathering eggs, trying to outrun a storm that was brewing over the swampy area.  Tommy was in an airboat.  Gingie was in the collection boat with one of the crew.  Before Tommy left the collection boat to go back for more eggs, he cautioned Gingie that if the rain came in, she was to do what she could to keep the temperature of the eggs from dropping.  Any major drop in temperature would mean the eggs would no longer be viable.  When the rain showed up, it came in torrents.  Tommy and the crew headed toward drier ground.  As he got closer to the collection boat, he could see that it was being tossed around by the wind and unsettled water, and there, with her body spread out over the eggs, wind and water lashing at her face, was Gingie, making sure the temperature of those eggs did not drop.  

You can see the pride in his eyes as he talks about his wife of 65 years.  I’m sure they could never have imagined a life so far from the land locked state of Kentucky.  I think it worked because they were in it together. 

A few interesting facts:

The incubation period of alligator eggs is 60 days.

The eggs are picked up in July (right after the 4th) then hatch out in September.

Some of the nest material is collected with the eggs, which are incubated at 80 degrees.

The ranchers started by feeding hatchlings protein from dead animals, like chickens.

Today, ranchers feed a high protein ration.