WILD THINGS : See You Later, Alligator

For 26 years, they waged a war of epic proportions, doing battle all over Los Angeles County, spending more than $2 million in weaponry and leaving piles of the dead and dying in their wake. At one point, just a few years ago, it seemed there was no end in sight, but then the tide turned and this summer, the County Agriculture Commissioner’s Noxious Weeds and Vertebrate Pests division declared victory. The war against the mighty alligator weed was won.

The weed, which once choked the waterways and plant life on almost 6,000 acres now troubles less than a fourth of one acre--a victory that allowed the county to turn over the problem to the state last July.

But the alligator weed, native to South America, was just one of a legion of enemies facing the 15-person division, which is devoted to controlling pests, from the warm and fuzzy (squirrels and gophers) to the truly strange (the African clawed frog and the walking catfish.)

It’s not always an easy job--while no one loses any sleep over the death of a rat or even a clawed frog, squirrels and gophers are another thing. “People think they’re cute and don’t like to poison them,” says division chief Richard Wightman, “but they’re a problem because they make lots of burrows and that affects the stability of the soil, particularly on hillsides.”

Squirrel and other rodents also carry fleas that can transmit diseases such as typhoid and rabies. “We’re out trying to protect the public’s health,” he says in answer to protestations by Chip and Dale fans.

The battle against pests such as African clawed frog and the walking catfish doesn’t require quite as much spin doctoring. Both are fairly unattractive creatures that feed on young fish in local ponds--the latter’s name describes the fact that it use its fins to slide itself from one body of water to another. “It’s not exactly going to hitchhike down the freeway,” Wightman explains, “but it can get up and move to another pnd if one is too dry.”

Well, that’s one less worry for Caltrans.