Gator Country

Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades

A New York Times Editors’ Choice • People Magazine Book of the Week • Florida’s 2024 Great Read from Great Places

Part investigative journalism, part natural history, part crime story, Gator Country reconstructs an extraordinary undercover wildlife investigation while examining conservation, poverty, law, history, and the uneasy relationship between people and the natural world.

Published by Flatiron Books.

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About Gator Country

To catch a Florida Man, you have to become one, and that’s what wildlife officer Jeff Babauta did.

As his ponytailed, whiskey-soaked alter ego, Jeff established Sunshine Alligator Farm. His goal was to infiltrate the underground world of alligator poachers in the Florida Everglades. What followed was an elaborate undercover operation involving stolen alligator eggs, high-speed airboat rides, shady deals, secret recordings and a cast of larger-than-life Floridians.

But as Jeff entered deeper into the lives of the people he was investigating, the story became more complicated. Not every poacher was a villain. Some were people trying to survive in communities shaped by poverty, tradition and a changing Florida. Jeff was forced to confront difficult questions about what justice means when enforcing the law can destroy the lives of people who have welcomed you into their world.

Gator Country follows the twisting story of Operation Alligator Thief while traveling much further into Florida’s past and present. The book explores the near-extinction and extraordinary recovery of the American alligator; the transformation of the Everglades; the history of Florida’s hunters, swampers and conservationists; and the ways money, politics and environmental protection have repeatedly collided in one of the world’s most unusual landscapes.

Through investigative reporting, nature writing and personal narrative, Rebecca Renner tells a story about survival, morality and the strange territory between poacher and conservationist, criminal and neighbor, exploitation and stewardship.

It is a true-crime story in which the crime is only the beginning.

Honors & Recognitions

New York Times Editors’ Choice

People Magazine Book of the Week

Florida’s 2024 Great Read from Great Places, selected by the Florida Center for the Book for the Library of Congress National Book Festival

Best Nonfiction of 2023 — BookPage

Best Reviewed Nonfiction Books of November 2023 — Literary Hub

Best Nonfiction of 2023 — Amazon

Best Books of 2023 — The Christian Science Monitor

Best Books of 2023 — Tampa Bay Times

Must-Read Nonfiction of 2023 — Chicago Public Library

Best Florida Books of 2023 — Creative Loafing Tampa Bay

Amazon Editors’ Pick — Best Books of the Year 2023

#4 on the Hudson News bestseller chart

Rebecca Renner was also named the 2023 recipient of the Florida Book Awards’ Gerald Ensley Developing Writer Award, which recognizes exceptional literary talent and the potential for continued literary significance.

Praise for Gator Country

“Renner’s debut is self-assured and full of poetry, and it will change Florida in the eyes of everyone who reads it.”
— NPR

“This nail-biter account has the intensity of the best true crime… A high-def tale that ensnares you from the start.”
— People, Book of the Week

“Every species, and every person who fights for its continued existence, deserves a book like this.”
— The New York Times

“What lifts Renner’s work out of the true-crime muck is her devotion to presenting the natural world in all its glory.”
— The Washington Post

“Beautifully evoking the ‘sawgrass plains and wild strands of jungle’ of its author’s home state, this tale of power, politics, and tradition is a triumph.”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Renner’s passion for her home state, compassion for those less fortunate, and gift of storytelling make this book difficult to put down.”
— Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Gator Country is a book for anyone looking for the juicy mess of reality in pages so suspenseful they read like fiction.”
— The Florida Review

“Renner is a natural storyteller, and she does service to wild Florida, igniting an answering passion in the reader.”
— Orlando Weekly

“The fast-paced narrative is imbued with the atmosphere of tension that shapes any good mystery story.”
— BookPage

“Come for the you’ll-never-believe facts and an exploration of man vs. myth. Stay for the history and dive into communities.”
— Book Riot

“Part true-crime story, part memoir, part hymn to ‘nature’s savage beauty,’ Gator Country makes for a rewarding reading experience.” — The Christian Science Monitor

“Her propulsive narrative reads as suspensefully as a well-wrought mystery novel.”
— Shelf Awareness

“Readers of this book are in for an adventure. It reads like a true-crime caper.”
— Library Journal

“I dare you to stop reading!”
— The Coastal Star

“This smart, nimble page turner will leave you more thoughtful about why we mythicize alligators, eat their flesh, wear their hide, and protect their population.”
— Jack E. Davis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Gulf and The Bald Eagle

“In this fascinating blend of true crime and science reporting, Rebecca Renner’s Gator Country delivers all the suspense and subterfuge of a le Carré novel.”
— Erika Krouse, award-winning author of Tell Me Everything

“Gator Country brims with energy, confidence, and all the hallmarks of a true-life thriller.”
— Adam Chandler, author of Drive-Thru Dreams

“A gorgeously rendered ode to the wild characters—both human and animal—of Renner’s native Florida.”
— Rachel Nuwer, author of Poached

“Renner shows us a hidden Florida that’s changing quickly.”
— Murray Carpenter, author of Caffeinated

“Rebecca Renner spins an incredible only-in-Florida true-crime tale.”
— Craig Pittman, author of Oh, Florida!

Talking about Gator Country

Interviews & Conversations

NPR / WFAE SouthBound

Rebecca Renner Takes Us to Gator Country with a Tale of Swampers and Poachers

Rebecca joins journalist and author Tommy Tomlinson for a conversation about Operation Alligator Thief, alligator poaching, the people of the Everglades and the natural beauty of wild Florida.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

Florida Humanities — FORUM: Beyond the Pages

Rebecca Renner: Gator Country

A conversation about the true story behind Gator Country, the undercover wildlife investigation at its center and the hidden history of Florida’s alligator country.

WATCH OR LISTEN

The Creative Nonfiction Podcast

Episode 420: Rebecca Renner Makes the Pig

Rebecca joins Brendan O’Meara for a long-form conversation about writing Gator Country, reporting narrative nonfiction and turning years of research into a propulsive story.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

Writers on Writing

Rebecca Renner, Author of Gator Country

A conversation about alligators, the Everglades, research, finding sources, earning their trust and constructing a book from a complicated investigation.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

Chatter on Books

Gator Country: Deception, Danger and Alligators in the Everglades

Rebecca discusses the people, creatures and history behind the book and the complicated ways they intersect in the Florida wilderness.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

LibraryThing

An Interview with Rebecca Renner

Rebecca discusses how a rumor from one of her high-school students led her to Operation Alligator Thief, why the story sounded too strange to be true and how she began investigating it.

READ THE INTERVIEW

The Drunken Odyssey

Rebecca Renner on Gator Country

Rebecca joins John King to talk about the book, its origins and the process of bringing its hidden Florida story to the page.

WATCH THE CONVERSATION

Progressive Page Turner — WSLR

Rebecca Renner: Gator Country

A conversation about alligator poaching, wildlife enforcement, conservation and the dangers involved in taking alligator eggs from wild nests.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

Books & Banter

Gator Country by Rebecca Renner

A long-form conversation about the book hosted by South Central Regional Library.

WATCH THE CONVERSATION

Gator Country on Stage

Rebecca has discussed Gator Country, Florida, conservation and narrative nonfiction at literary festivals, bookstores, libraries and cultural institutions around the country.

Miami Book Fair

Rebecca appeared at the 2023 Miami Book Fair for “Larger-Than-Life True Tales,” discussing Gator Countryalongside Sean Howe, author of Agents of Chaos.

Key West Literary Seminar

At the 2024 Key West Literary Seminar, Rebecca appeared in conversation with environmental journalist Craig Pittman for “The Best Beat in American Journalism: Covering the Florida Environment,” and joined Jennine Capó Crucet and Diane Roberts for another conversation about writing Florida.

Oxford Exchange

Rebecca appeared with Jeff Babauta, the undercover wildlife officer at the center of Gator Country, for a live author conversation in Tampa.

Word of South

Rebecca was a featured author at the 2024 Word of South literature and music festival in Tallahassee.

Crime Scene Mystery Bookfest

Rebecca appeared at McIntyre’s Books’ Crime Scene Mystery Bookfest in Fearrington Village, North Carolina, joining writers and readers for conversations about crime writing and nonfiction.

Orlando Book Festival

Rebecca appeared as a featured author at the 2024 Orlando Book Festival.

Off the Page Literary Celebration

Rebecca delivered a keynote address at Sarasota County Libraries’ Off the Page Literary Celebration.

In the Everglades

Rebecca brought Gator Country back to the landscape that inspired it with a reading and signing at the historic Smallwood Store in Chokoloskee.

About the Audiobook

The audiobook of Gator Country is narrated by John Pirhalla and published by Macmillan Audio.

Available wherever audiobooks are sold and through participating libraries.

LISTEN TO GATOR COUNTRY

For Book Clubs, Libraries & Classrooms

With its combination of true crime, environmental history, investigative journalism and ethical questions about conservation and law enforcement, Gator Country has been selected by libraries and reading programs across the country.

The book invites discussion about:

the moral ambiguities of undercover investigations
wildlife crime and conservation
who gets to use and control natural resources
poverty, law and environmental enforcement
Florida history and the transformation of the Everglades
stereotypes about rural communities and “Florida Man”
the relationship between humans and apex predators
the line between exploitation and stewardship
how narrative journalism reconstructs events from documents, interviews and competing accounts

INVITE REBECCA TO SPEAK AT YOUR EVENT, LIBRARY OR UNIVERSITY