This area never ceases to amaze me. There is an alligator on the beach at the Spooky Lane beach access right now. He is swimming, surfing and every once in a while he comes out. WCS is on the scene keeping spectators far away and the trapper is supposedly on the way. Here are some pics I took.
Cheers, Geo
Replies
130
SoWal Expert
Minnie, what they don't tell you is that the "relocation" is into someone's meat locker. Relocation should have been back to the watering hole in which the gator lived for several years, not bothering a sole -- most likely, Draper Lake or Alligator Lake.
Beach Lover
Alligator
We owned a house in the SC lowcountry. Every once in a while a gator would come out of the marshes and swim along our beach. It was quite an interesting experience when you were out in the surf fishing and you look back to see a 6 foot alligator swimming bewtween you and the beach. I was told that they liked to get in the salt water when they had skin issues.
We owned a house in the SC lowcountry. Every once in a while a gator would come out of the marshes and swim along our beach. It was quite an interesting experience when you were out in the surf fishing and you look back to see a 6 foot alligator swimming bewtween you and the beach. I was told that they liked to get in the salt water when they had skin issues.
Beach Lover
This is an out rage that they would kill this beautiful creature. I am so ticked off at this report. Alligators generally keep to themselves. I have lived here my whole life and never have I feared an alligator. Save the surfing gator!!!
Beach Fanatic
looks like he is having a good time
Darlene is my middle name, not my nickname
According the FWC:
Generally, alligators may be considered a nuisance when they are at least four feet in length and pose a threat to people or their pets or property. Alligators less than four feet in length are naturally fearful of people and are not generally capable of eating anything larger than a small turtle. They eat small fish, frogs, and other small animals. They are too small to be a threat to even small pets and pose no threat to people. They are typically not dangerous to people unless someone attempts to handle them. Also, they are common in Florida, and the mere presence of a small alligator is not cause for concern, even when they turn up in places where people may not expect to see them such as retention ponds and drainage ditches. However, occasionally alligators less than four feet in length are legitimate problems and must be addressed.
Some people would like the FWC to relocate nuisance alligators. While, in rare cases, the agency does allow for the relocation of alligators less than four feet in length, relocation of larger, problem alligators is not an effective solution. Relocation does not change the behavior that caused the alligator to be a nuisance, and relocated alligators frequently return to their capture site. As a result, these alligators would continue to pose a danger. Also, viable alligator populations exist in all suitable habitats in the state, making the relocation of alligators an unwarranted exercise from an ecological perspective. Relocation of wild animals can also facilitate the spread of disease.
Alligators commonly become a nuisance when they are fed by humans. Fed alligators lose their fear of people and can be dangerous. For this reason it is against the law in Florida to feed wild alligators or other wild crocodilians.
I too hate to see them destroyed but once a large one makes its way into areas frequented by humans, they really don't have much choice.
Yes they freaking do!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Take him back where he came from. They don't have to KILL HIM!!!!! This breaks my heart. I couldn't even look at the pictures without crying. Until I see proof that he is still alive I will not believe it. I don't care who anyone has talked to at the WCSO..they can tell you anything to appease you. What are we supposed to do KILL every aligator over 4ft long just because they were lucky enough to live long enough to grow larger. AND, we have made our way into areas frequented by Alligators!!!!! NOT the other way around in my opinion. OMG, I could go on and on...this is just heartbreaking to me!!!!
Darlene is my middle name, not my nickname
This is an out rage that they would kill this beautiful creature. I am so ticked off at this report. Alligators generally keep to themselves. I have lived here my whole life and never have I feared an alligator. Save the surfing gator!!!
I completely totally agree with you!!!!!!!!!!!!
SoWal Expert
"was" having a good time. Probably a little freaked out that he couldn't find his way back to his watering hole. Not many places for a gator to climb off the beach over the dunes.
Sure, there is a need to temporarily alert the public for safety reasons, but to have to trap the gator to haul it away is a little extreme in my opinion, unless people have been feeding it and it was conditioned to relating people to food, as is the case with a couple other gators in our area.
Sure, there is a need to temporarily alert the public for safety reasons, but to have to trap the gator to haul it away is a little extreme in my opinion, unless people have been feeding it and it was conditioned to relating people to food, as is the case with a couple other gators in our area.
SoWal Insider
What are alligators doing this Spring?
Here's an interesting article on FL gators.....EcoView-SHOULD WE KILL ALL THE ALLIGATORS
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]
Do alligators ever leave freshwater lakes and rivers to go onto land or into the ocean?
A. Alligators leave drying freshwater habitats to travel overland during droughts, and males move between bodies of water in search of mates during the spring and to avoid confrontations with larger male alligators. Alligators will enter saltwater habitats on occasion and have even been found a mile or more out to sea. They do not live in the ocean but can tolerate saltwater for hours or even days without a problem.
[/FONT][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Q. Are larger adult alligators more aggressive toward humans than smaller ones? [/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]A. Adult females are smaller than the males and when guarding a nest or babies are often aggressive toward human intruders. They will come up on land with mouth open to chase a person away. Male alligators are aggressive toward smaller males during the mating season and perhaps other times, but I have never seen one be aggressive toward a person. Aside from parental protection by females, attacks on humans generally involve situations in which alligators have been fed by people and thus have developed atypical behavior.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]They could have just let nature take it's course and watched the gator-- removing people from the beach as needed. Eventually, it would have made it's way back to one of the Lakes. :roll:
[/FONT]
Here's an interesting article on FL gators.....EcoView-SHOULD WE KILL ALL THE ALLIGATORS
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]
Do alligators ever leave freshwater lakes and rivers to go onto land or into the ocean?
A. Alligators leave drying freshwater habitats to travel overland during droughts, and males move between bodies of water in search of mates during the spring and to avoid confrontations with larger male alligators. Alligators will enter saltwater habitats on occasion and have even been found a mile or more out to sea. They do not live in the ocean but can tolerate saltwater for hours or even days without a problem.
[/FONT][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Q. Are larger adult alligators more aggressive toward humans than smaller ones? [/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]A. Adult females are smaller than the males and when guarding a nest or babies are often aggressive toward human intruders. They will come up on land with mouth open to chase a person away. Male alligators are aggressive toward smaller males during the mating season and perhaps other times, but I have never seen one be aggressive toward a person. Aside from parental protection by females, attacks on humans generally involve situations in which alligators have been fed by people and thus have developed atypical behavior.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]They could have just let nature take it's course and watched the gator-- removing people from the beach as needed. Eventually, it would have made it's way back to one of the Lakes. :roll:
[/FONT]
Beach Lover
Gee....I wonder if the killing of this alligator could have anything to do with tourism, namely the safety of our beaches? :scratch:
Seems we've gotten a bad rap lately for all the "killer sand sharks"
I know a lot of yanks, and when they hear on the news about hurricanes, sharks, etc. - and then I hear their conversations later - they've got things totally blown out of proportion.
I can hear it now....Gator Beach, USA :roll:
Seems we've gotten a bad rap lately for all the "killer sand sharks"
I know a lot of yanks, and when they hear on the news about hurricanes, sharks, etc. - and then I hear their conversations later - they've got things totally blown out of proportion.
I can hear it now....Gator Beach, USA :roll:
Beach Lover
What about the Nokuse Plantation? I am sure there is a place for him/her there! It just seems sensless to kill this alligator. We should respect the last of the dinosaurs. Save the surfing gator!
Beach Fanatic
Ummm... I may be way off on this, but I wonder what will happen when unsuspecting tourists play on private beaches?? Will they share the same fate as this poor alligator??
SoWal Expert
My solution was to just herd him onto the "private beach" - until I realized he would definitely be trapped and kilt for having the audacity to be there! :roll:
Next idea was to give Fudpucker's a BIG gator!
Next idea was to give Fudpucker's a BIG gator!
Beach Lover
I'm just wondering -- was the gator below the mean water line?
Beach Crab
Better call Tim Tebow!
SoWal Insider
NEWS FLASH: I heard that so much public support has come in about the gator, that his life has been spared. Will update where they plan on relocating him.
Sowal Rules!
Sowal Rules!
Beach Fanatic
That is great news, I guess the officer at WCSO was telling the truth, which is very nice. I was told they sometimes release them at Elgin.
Edited
Beach Fanatic
Stinky's announced the addition of Gator Bites today! Come on down! : )
Beach Fanatic
Stinky's announced the addition of Gator Bites today! Come on down! : )
Beach Fanatic
Stinky's announced the addition of Gator Bites today! Come on down! : )
:funn:
:nono1: Beach Fanatic
NEWS FLASH: I heard that so much public support has come in about the gator, that his life has been spared. Will update where they plan on relocating him.
Sowal Rules!
Did you get a post card yet? Photos? Ok spill.....where's the info coming from. We know you must have an inside source. Mrs. Gator put up bail??? :funn:
hmmmm......can't remember
NEWS FLASH: I heard that so much public support has come in about the gator, that his life has been spared. Will update where they plan on relocating him.
Sowal Rules!
I heard that Dr. Phil is building him a new lake and that Oprah is going to review his book when he gets it written.
Beach Fanatic
Stinky's announced the addition of Gator Bites today! Come on down! : )
I was going to post earlier today that I was hungry for Bayou Bills' sauteed alligator (actually am, that's my fav) but thought that my comment would not be well received.
Not heard any confirmation, but hopefully he/she was indeed spared, and hopefully he/she isn't blind from being in salt water.
SoWal Expert
Alligator captured on South Walton beach
March 17, 2009 07:27:00 AM
Suzanne Preston / Florida Freedom Newspapers
www.newsherald.com
Beachgoers had more to view than sand and surf Monday morning as deputies from the Walton County Sheriff's Office cordoned off a stretch of beach at Ed Walline Park to corral a transient alligator in the surf.
The alligator was reported to the WCSO Sunday evening and beach deputies were dispatched early Monday morning. The alligator was stuck in the rip tide and rolled in and out of the surf, rarely making it to the beach.
View a photo gallery of the gator being captured and taken away.
Onlookers were kept a safe distance away and soon many people were gathered along the dunes to watch and take pictures.
As deputies waited for Justin Johnson, an alligator trapper with the Nuisance Alligator Program, they kept a close eye on the gator and navigated their vehicles to keep curious beachgoers at a safe distance.
Upon Johnson's arrival he and Sgt. Ryan Brown of the WCSO took to the beach and waited for the reptile to get close enough to harpoon.
"The harpoon doesn't penetrate enough to kill," said Johnson. "It gives me enough leverage to pull the alligator out of the surf."
When the alligator was approximately 30 yards from the beach, Johnson and Brown waded waist deep into the water, harpooned the alligator and with help from local charter fisherman, Jimbo Bishop who had been summoned to help if Johnson was unable to respond to the scene, pulled the alligator onto the beach.
On shore, the three men quickly muzzled the 7 ? foot alligator and Johnson tied its legs with electrical tape and secured it for transport.
The alligator didn't put up much of a fight.
"These gators can't take the salt water for long," Johnson said. "They can survive about seven days in the surf and this fellow has been swimming now for more than 24 hours; he's tired."
It took Johnson, Brown, Bishop and another deputy to lift the alligator into Johnson's truck.
"We're going to take him to a holding pen for now," said Johnson. "I'll have to find out if this alligator is going to be placed somewhere."
The Nuisance Alligator Program allows for some transient alligators to be relocated, usually if the alligator is shorter than four feet.
However, since this one was more than seven feet it's likely it will be killed.
"This is the first stray alligator of the season," said Johnson. "With it starting to warm up others will be on the move around the coastal lakes and we'll (the alligator trappers) be busy."
(Be sure to check out the capture photos in the link in this article.)
March 17, 2009 07:27:00 AM
Suzanne Preston / Florida Freedom Newspapers
www.newsherald.com
Beachgoers had more to view than sand and surf Monday morning as deputies from the Walton County Sheriff's Office cordoned off a stretch of beach at Ed Walline Park to corral a transient alligator in the surf.
The alligator was reported to the WCSO Sunday evening and beach deputies were dispatched early Monday morning. The alligator was stuck in the rip tide and rolled in and out of the surf, rarely making it to the beach.
View a photo gallery of the gator being captured and taken away.
Onlookers were kept a safe distance away and soon many people were gathered along the dunes to watch and take pictures.
As deputies waited for Justin Johnson, an alligator trapper with the Nuisance Alligator Program, they kept a close eye on the gator and navigated their vehicles to keep curious beachgoers at a safe distance.
Upon Johnson's arrival he and Sgt. Ryan Brown of the WCSO took to the beach and waited for the reptile to get close enough to harpoon.
"The harpoon doesn't penetrate enough to kill," said Johnson. "It gives me enough leverage to pull the alligator out of the surf."
When the alligator was approximately 30 yards from the beach, Johnson and Brown waded waist deep into the water, harpooned the alligator and with help from local charter fisherman, Jimbo Bishop who had been summoned to help if Johnson was unable to respond to the scene, pulled the alligator onto the beach.
On shore, the three men quickly muzzled the 7 ? foot alligator and Johnson tied its legs with electrical tape and secured it for transport.
The alligator didn't put up much of a fight.
"These gators can't take the salt water for long," Johnson said. "They can survive about seven days in the surf and this fellow has been swimming now for more than 24 hours; he's tired."
It took Johnson, Brown, Bishop and another deputy to lift the alligator into Johnson's truck.
"We're going to take him to a holding pen for now," said Johnson. "I'll have to find out if this alligator is going to be placed somewhere."
The Nuisance Alligator Program allows for some transient alligators to be relocated, usually if the alligator is shorter than four feet.
However, since this one was more than seven feet it's likely it will be killed.
"This is the first stray alligator of the season," said Johnson. "With it starting to warm up others will be on the move around the coastal lakes and we'll (the alligator trappers) be busy."
(Be sure to check out the capture photos in the link in this article.)
Admin
Promoted to front page.
Beach FanaticAuthor
Last year I posted that I saw Jessica Simpson at Bud and Alley's and the paparazzi contacted me for more info. Apparently, our gator and his story have a national appeal too.
A reporter contacted me and wants to know if he can utilize my photos and interview me for a story to run in the Washington DC area.
Without overanalyzing this I am inclined to give him whatever he wants.
That said, do you guys think this is contributing to what could end up being a story that could end up being harmful to tourism or at least that has the potential to scare masses of people?
Sharks, gators and snakes seem to bring out irrational emotions/fears.
Let me know your thoughts. I haven't responded yet to the reporter's request.
G
A reporter contacted me and wants to know if he can utilize my photos and interview me for a story to run in the Washington DC area.
Without overanalyzing this I am inclined to give him whatever he wants.
That said, do you guys think this is contributing to what could end up being a story that could end up being harmful to tourism or at least that has the potential to scare masses of people?
Sharks, gators and snakes seem to bring out irrational emotions/fears.
Let me know your thoughts. I haven't responded yet to the reporter's request.
G
Edited
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