Looking for Giant Predators in St. Pete
July 28, 2010
By Scott Hamilton
In Cryptozoology
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Need something with big teeth to be afraid of? The St. Pete Times has had you covered this last week.
On Sunday they profiled Capt. Bill Goldschmitt, a shark fisherman with a somewhat outdated view of the shark situation in the Gulf of Mexico. In the course of the interview Capt. Goldschmitt claimed to have once almost caught Old Hitler, a giant hammerhead shark that supposedly lives in Tampa Bay.
“I had him once,” Capt. Bill says. But everything went wrong, as they do in the good fishing stories. Old Hitler was just too big — at least 18 feet long. The wind roared and lightning flashed. Capt. Bill howled at the elements. The hook straightened. Old Hitler sank below the waves.
I think we can write that off as a fish story.
In more substantial news, the Times reported today that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has given a trapper permission to kill a 10-foot long alligator that has been seen in the canals around the Roser Park area. This is a very large gator for such an urban area, and it probably would be best for the local pet population if the trapper finds it.
