Well surely you all will find a way to make a joke of the facts, but the truth as known to friends of the owner of the Flathead alligator is: the alligator lived in a pond on private property. Those who attacked it were trespassing. The animal was actually well known, had been shown at several schools years ago and was used in a stunt at a swimming pool. Its owner and some of his animals died in a trailer house fire adjacent to the pond recently. Surely your alligator is also a pet, I don't think alligators could live in Montana without help in the wintertime?
Anyway what we learned up here is that if you encounter an alligator you should call the authorities. People will hate on you for months if you shoot it with a bow. That wasn't cool.