“Swamp People” is an American reality television series that documents the day-to-day lives and activities of numerous alligator hunters, who all live around the swamps along the Atchafalaya River Basin in Louisiana, making a living by hunting alligators and catching fish.
The alligator hunting season begins strictly on the first Wednesday of September, and only lasts for about thirty days. During this time, alligator – ‘gator season – attracts hunters from all over the United States, though typically the profession is dominated by Louisiana natives.
In correlation with strict wildlife laws, all the hunters gather in September to earn a large part of their annual income, following a 300-year-old tradition of hunting American alligators sought after for both their meat and skin. According to the regulations in place, each hunter is allowed a limited number of tags which they have to apply to each of their kills.
Typically, with each season, hunters try their best to achieve their maximum allowed tags before the season ends, referred to as the act of ‘tagging out’.
“Swamp People” aired its first season in August of 2010 on History Channel, and through the popular reception of the audience, the show raked in a record number of views for History Channel. Even to this day, with the series now in its fourteenth season, “Swamp People” still remains one of History Channel’s most successful and viewed programs.
The drama and action-packed series never fails to entertain, but what else could be expected from documenting one of the most dangerous professions in the world?
Each season follows a large variety of hunter teams as they set out on their intention to tag out, and while most of the series is filmed in Louisiana, later seasons also included the documenting of hunters in the swamplands of Texas, and some other US states.
Over the several years that “Swamp People” graced our screens, it shot many of the hunters featured on the series to stardom, and quite definitely the list of hunters and stars featured on the show would be too long to mention here, but no doubt viewers, and fanatics of the show would be familiar with many of the faces appearing in front of the camera.
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One such iconic hunter is Liz Cavalier, often called ‘the gator queen’. Unfortunately, following several seasons on the show, and appearing on talk shows discussing her career choice, Liz can no longer be seen in “Swamp People”.
As such, many of the show’s fans, and of course her adoring followers have been wondering what she’s been up to since her departure from the series.
Who Is The Gator Queen
Born Elizabeth Dupre on 21 January 1970, in Pierre Part, Louisiana, she’s the only child of CJ and Ella Dupre, who much like herself, were also alligator hunters. In fact, Liz, as she’s known on the show, comes from a long line of alligator hunters, proving that her career choice stemmed from the blood in her veins.
The reason Liz is never called by her name is because of a strict rule she enforced on the set of “Swamp People”, demanding that no one ever call her by her name as her late father always did.
While little is known about Cavalier’s early life, most of her followers would know that she grew up moving around with her alligator-hunting parents, and as such, gained her introduction into the profession from a very young age.
Her father, CJ, taught Liz all the tricks of the trade, and he’s often pointed out as her biggest influence. When Liz turned twelve in 1982, she gained her first-ever opportunity to kill an alligator; she did‘t mess things up back then, and went on to learn all the necessary skills to become one of the best alligator hunters in Louisiana.
Liz spent most of her childhood living in Morgan, Louisiana, and would often travel with her parents to Houma, though later in life the Dupre family moved to Pierre Part, and it’s here where Liz established her own life as a gator hunter.
Aside from hunting these dangerous creatures, Liz actually grew up learning to respect and love American alligators, and often boasts that she kept a seven-foot alligator as a pet named Charlie Pie, but despite this close history with the giant reptiles, Liz isn’t indifferent to killing them, and making a living selling their meat and skins.
While little else is known about her, it‘s well known that Liz joined the cast of “Swamp People” in 2011, as a member – specifically the shooter – whose task it is to shoot the hunted ‘gators of Troy Landry.
Gator hunting ain't just a man's game. RT if you're a fan of "Lucky" Liz Cavalier! #SwampPeople pic.twitter.com/1i83FPHJyW
— Swamp People (@SwampPeople) January 23, 2014
The pair have long been friends as they met during their early childhood, thus it was only a matter of time before they would hunt together. However, her relationship with Landry soured, simply because he didn’t obey her rule, once calling her by her full name.
During the filming of the third season of “Swamp People”, Liz entered the hunting season with her own dedicated crew, and then hunted at her own leisure until leaving the show in 2016. According to certain reports on Liz’s dismissal from “Swamp People” the decision came after the show changed hands to a new production company.
The new managers didn’t want to include too much of Liz, but of course this did not sit well with the seasoned hunter. Liz took to social media to express her frustration, which in turn only further angered the producers.
Ultimately, they decided to let her go, but as all things in show business are unpredictable, Liz returned in 2021 for five episodes in season 12.
For those wondering, Liz Cavalier now goes by the surname Choate, as she married fellow hunter and “Swamp People” star Justin Choate. Previously, Liz was married to an unknown man with whom she has a daughter, Jessica.
Unfortunately, Jessica became involved with a substance abuse problem, about which Liz often spoke openly to raise awareness, and prevent others from going through the same difficulty. Fortunately, Jessica has since entered rehab and has fully recovered from her addiction, eventually following in her mother’s footsteps by also becoming a ‘gator hunter.
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What Is Liz Doing Now?
Unfortunately, very few details about Liz’s current whereabouts are publicly available, and aside from her brief return to “Swamp People” in 2021, little else is known about what she’s currently up to. However, her dedicated followers and fans can follow her on Facebook, where she shares her latest news, and more often her newest catch.
Of course, Liz also shares details of her personal life, showing her followers insights into her married life by posting pictures of family outings and much more.
Aside from all this, the only other activity by Liz includes the publication of a cookbook, which she released in 2015, as well as the sales of merchandise. Liz’s book, entitled “The Gator Queen Liz’s Cookbook” was dedicated to her late parents, and featured over a hundred different Cajun recipes.
Other than that, Liz has remained mostly quiet, but it seems that she and Jessica are both still continuing to hunt. According to their social media platforms, the mother and daughter duo have competed in the most recent gator hunting seasons, and even shared a couple of pictures of what they caught.
