I gotta tell ya, the pythons would seem to worry me more than a gator. I am frequently reading stories of those huge snakes spreading all over Florida and killing everything they can and I often wonder why we have not heard of someone, a kid, elderly person, or a surveyor being killed by one of those things.
@flga-pls-2-2
i remember the threat of being tossed in lake jessup used as a regular attitude adjustment device by my folks (usually dad). in particular, on my 8th birthday the executive decision was made that we would go to the sanford zoo, which i'd been to before and was about the LAST place on earth i wanted to go for my birthday. i think that was likely the closest i ever did come to taking a swim in it.
folks used to rent a houseboat up in astor once a year and we'd go moseying up across lake george to silver glen springs to hang out for a few days with all the other "boat people." there were some monster gators on that lake too- i remember seeing one or two clear out in the middle of the lake. funny how we usually didn't think much of jumping off the boat and trying to swim and catch back up to it... UNTIL we'd see a gator and then it was like a 30/45 minute quarantine on such activities. same rules applied in regard to the canal in our back yard for the duration of my adolescence, anyways.
brought the girls down a few years ago to see where i grew up- they'd never been- old buddy met us out at lone cabbage with his airboat and we took a spin out there. saw a nesting mama- she lunged at the boat at one point, pretty much made the whole trip worth it right there (the beach and epcot being bonus).
still, to this day, sharks don't freak me out. not terribly, anyways- and i've been nipped on the leg by a couple little ones. but gators- there's a special stratum of dread in my being that is occupied solely and entirely by gators.
Never heard of that or have seen that from experience. They might climb up a fence but over it? Doubt it. Never heard that. Might be able to teat one down if the fence privoked it.
Judge for yourself. I did a Google search using “Jacksonville NAS alligator” for a recent incident. I would like to see more of what occurred before the “filming” started. Here are some of my search results:
Interesting. Evolution, Darwinism, Gradulism. Soon(evolutionary time) they will be tap dancing.
I've seen many Gator enclosures with a 4 ft fence that were never hopped by a gator. Some had 8 ft gators
I see by your Ortega Gasset quote you are a naturalist. Great quote.
Here's a pic of my duck hunting buddy a few weeks ago. We turned it in to FWC. My buddy is Pals with one of the licensed trappers and She gets paid for these suckers. This one had a sweet bounty being that it was 15'.
You probably wouldn??t recognize Silver Glen now. In July, especially the 4th the Silver Glen Springs run is packed full of boats so cramped together they fill the run all the way to Lake George and then some. The way they are packed in if a boat fire erupts the whole damn place will explode. Thank heavens I??m too old for that fun-stuff anymore.
As for the sharks. The news media always goes nuts and calls a nip or bite a SHARK ATTACK!!!!!?ÿ While surfing as a young person I have been tasted by a sand shark, bitten by a bluefish of all things, and when fishing had a baby hammerhead try to swallow my hand when I was releasing it. I wasn??t any big deal. This always happens when the water is cloudy or it??s unusually rough surf. The sharks can??t see anything and if they bump into something they immediately think it??s ??sumptin?? ta eat? and perform a taste test. ?ÿAs soon as they figure out you aren??t a fish they let go. Sand sharks have small teeth compared to their peers. When the water is clear they will just swim right by you with no interest at whatsoever. After all it is their home and we are the uninvited guests. ?????ÿ
Yeah strong enough to kill if you were alone and it wrapped you up right. They eat Florida deer regularly enough when they're this size. Of course deer down here are about the size of a Labrador. I am sure this one could eat me as a Joe Dirt size guy. I'd have to hope the patchy whiskers, BO, stained Marshall Tucker Band sleeveless shirt, and spikey mullet would be enough of a deterrent for the snake I guess...
You should see these trapper ladies. They're crazy women, but their truck and light setup is pretty cool. They're out every night and they bag everything. Game & Fish euthanizes after they turn em in.
Happens all the time on Sanibel. Some have special fences that bend outwards to keep them from climbing over.
As D Bendell says yes. They are a huge problem in the everglades they eat anything and everything. All the rabbits, squirrels, birds, frogs, yearlings and adults, turtles and anything else that helps balance the ecosystem are disappearing at breakneck speed. There is also another eco related problem about to explode concerning Iguanas. In South Fl. they are everywhere. Scaring the hell out of, but not bothering, people and consuming things important to the overall ecosystem. Come on down and take a ride with one of the "Python Hunters" be forewarned these people are borderline insanity candidates.
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