alligator in western lake

[peapod1980]

I've been seeing them in Western Lake since as long ago as I can remember, and a friend recently saw one from our back yard in Grayton. I'm always relieved when I see one or hear of a sighting.

OK, please help me understand; gators absolutely terrify me for some reason, so I need to know why seeing them is a good thing.

 

[Jennifer Steele]

OK, please help me understand; gators absolutely terrify me for some reason, so I need to know why seeing them is a good thing.

Because it means to some extent that humans and development of the natural habitat haven't caused them to move or die. They were here first. I don't want to be up close and personal with a gator either, but there has never, to my knowledge, been an alligator attack in Western Lake.

 

[seacrestkristi]

 

[seacrestkristi]

Makes for an exciting story. A few weeks ago, we paddled "up into WaterColor," to where the canal ends, almost all the way to Hwy 395. Never saw a gator. Maybe the peeps at the WC Boathouse should give warnings that plastic is mating, because there is a fair amount of frisbees, plastic chairs, balls, etc "up in WaterColor."

It just seems like plastic is everywhere. Even all over the beach, water bottles, lids, those juice box straw wrappers,baggies, styrofoam too Why all these tent frames everywhere? Aren't they ugly eye pollution? Is it really that hard to take your sheeet up? It's plastic, ugly , eyesore, beach pollution. Maybe the frames are people's way of claiming their spot. I don't get the pollution thing though. Fines need to be enforced on litter bugs, even buttheads. Don't cars come with ash trays. Anyhow, I'm glad a gator can still manage to find a home. Now as long as no one feeds him/her.

 

[Camellia]

There were two small alligators hanging around my backyard on Western Lake (Grayton Lake) . Their lack of fear and inclincation to linger around despite several people talking, making noise, etc. indicated that someone had been feeding them. This was disturbing.

 

[seacrestkristi]

Is it true this is how wildlife resources determines their need for euthanasia? If they show no fear or are friendly they get put down. So when people feed them they are basically killing them.

 

[skippertoo]

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/13487147/detail.html

This just in...

 

[Jdarg]

Makes for an exciting story. A few weeks ago, we paddled "up into WaterColor," to where the canal ends, almost all the way to Hwy 395. Never saw a gator. Maybe the peeps at the WC Boathouse should give warnings that plastic is mating, because there is a fair amount of frisbees, plastic chairs, balls, etc "up in WaterColor."

If this was the trip you took with the Mers, there is a really good reason that you didn't see any gators. Gators are lazy- they were afraid Mermy was going to ask them to bike/walk/make jewelry/paint/garden/talk and the other 27 things that she manages to cram into 24 hours. The gators were skeered of her.

 

[Smiling JOe]

If this was the trip you took with the Mers,

I calculated our mileage for the paddling trip via satellite maps and we logged just over five miles. I was tired when I got back. That was my first long paddle this year. However, it was mucho funn.

SeacrestKristi, you are correct that when people feed the gators, they are basically killing them as well as endangering other people.

 

[NoHall]

Jdarg says she saw about a 24 foot long gator in there, and a few months ago, I saw one which was about 4 ft long. That gator must be eating some big kids. Just wait until someone sees a gator in the outflow.

24 feet long? Please tell me that you mistyped that, or that you were watching that crazy movie with Oliver Platt. (Or was that a crocodile?)