Alligator on the beach (Photos)

[Litninbug]

sounds like a s'breaker jumpin off a balcony.

 

[Smiling JOe]

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.

 

[Just_In_Thyme]

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.

 

[TableFiveChef]

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!!!

 

[JUL]

looks like he is having a good time

 

[kathydwells]

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!!!!

 

[kathydwells]

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!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Smiling JOe]

"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.

 

[Mango]

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]

 

[woodworker]

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: