BookBrowse Reviews Gator Country by Rebecca Renner

The word "poaching" conjures disturbing images of charismatic megafauna like elephants and rhinos being killed for their tusks by violent criminals. But in reality, most poaching looks very different — overhunting, overfishing, or even gathering protected plants is less dramatic, but just as ecologically destructive. Rebecca Renner pulls back the curtain on poaching happening right under our noses in her debut book, Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades, and in the process, she weaves together personal stories and differing perspectives on what it means to be stewards of the land.

The narrative centers around a sting operation to catch alligator egg poachers, led by Jeff Babauta, a by-the-book Florida wildlife officer who has spent most of his life in South Florida and most of his career protecting animals. He agrees to go undercover for the Florida ...