alligator in western lake

[Boston T.]

I personally have not seen a gator its natural habitat. What is the rule of thumb when encountering these magnificent, yet terrifying creatures? I personally would run like crazy and freak out. What would be the best way to leave it alone and not distrub him? Especially if my 5 year old is with me I would not want to terrify her, but I would want to get away as safely as possible.

 

[full time]

Don't feed em, don't antagonize em, don't swim with dogs (yum) and, most importantly, don't worry. You have a much greater chance of being eaten by yellow flies. I suspect the death roll and being stuffed under a log would be preferable.

 

[DuneAHH]

Don't feed em, don't antagonize em, don't swim with dogs (yum) and, most importantly, don't worry. You have a much greater chance of being eaten by yellow flies. I suspect the death roll and being stuffed under a log would be preferable.

I can dig it!!! Allegedly, the trick to running away from gators is to move away in "zig-zags" ... a strategy that doesn't work worth a tinker's damn when attempting to escape yellow fly attacks (nor does my typical strategy of spinning & kicking in wild circles, w/ much slapping & flailing of arms while cussing a bright blue streak)!! Personally I wouldn't swim in the lakes...there are so many better places to swim.

 

[Smiling JOe]

Remember to not play in the water's edge barking like a dog.

One kid tried that last year (I forget where, but not around here) and apparently, the big gator thought he was lunch. The boy lived to tell about it, but I don't think he'll be doing that again.

Here's the story:
Alligator Bites Boy In Sumter County


******************

Here is another story of a kid who survived a bite.
*****************

I've worked in the water with many gators during highschool. (Wildlife Preserve) We were waist-deep in the water, and depending on where we were working on the Preserve, we would sometimes see 8'-9' gators float their heads up above the surface to watch us. The first few times were very scary, but we soon stopped worrying about them, because they never bothered us. We did always keep a constant watch for them, but never had much of a problem. Now, finding their nests and counting their eggs in the field is another can of worms, and some of the females get fairly mad and agressive looking, but it is mostly scare tactics, and we were able to back them up with a 5' long stick, by gently tapping it to the tip of their noses.

My suggestion is to avoid night swimming. Gators love to eat at night time. Keep small dogs and small children out of the water. Avoid swimming in Black Creek after sunset. I hear there are plenty up there, and I believe it. Once, we had a 9 footer swimming right toward our boat, as though it was expecting us to give it food. Not a good thing.

 

[DuneAHH]

Remember to not play in the water's edge barking like a dog.


Be right back...gotta go post this lickle reminder on my fridge....right next to
.
.
.Note-to-Self: "Thou Shalt Not Kill"!!!!