Cheyenne “Pickle” Wheat capped the end of Louisiana’s alligator hunting season in a special way. As the annual season came to an end last month, the Swamp People star took to Instagram to mark the occasion with a photo from her time out on the swamp with her co-star Troy Landry.
“It doesn’t seem real that the season is already over. This one went by faster than normal,” Wheat wrote. “I’ve been home about a week now and I already miss my Landry fam. From one adventure to the next we go.”
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The annual alligator hunting season kicks off in August in Louisiana’s east zone and September in the state’s west zone, with the season open for 60 days from the start date in both zones. The program has harvested an average of about 24,000 alligators per year in Louisiana, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. It is unclear how many alligator hunting tags Wheat and Landry received – something that is determined through the lottery, property ownership, bidding and being part of a family or business, per Nola.com – but they seemed to have quite a successful season. In late September, Wheat shared a photo of herself and Landry, as well as her daughter, whom she shares with boyfriend Joshua Kippes, in front of a boatload of gators.
“From the looks of my feed, everyone had a great season on the water,” she shared. “I’d like to take a second to thank everyone for their contribution to the conservation of these majestic animals.”
One of the stars of History’s hit series Swamp People, Wheat comes from a family of swampers. Born to Eddie and Missie Wheat, she was raised alongside her brother in Poydras, Louisiana. According to her biography on the History website, her great-grandfather was one of the original alligator hunters in St. Bernard Parish. She was first introduced to the trade by her grandfather, with Wheat once writing, “He had a unique style of shooting that managed to keep his people safe and fed for many years unnoticed by society growing around them… It’s important to me and my family to continue to share what we’ve learned from our ancestors and to keep following the grain. It keeps us rooted and happy.” Wheat joined Swamp People in Season 12 and has since gone on to appear in the spinoff series Swamp People: Serpant Invasion.