Why do we tolerate alligators in populated areas?

[Anonymous]

Story on the radio about an alligator holding a family hostage in Hilton Head requiring hours of local authorities time before it finally moved away.

Why not kill that one gator?

[Anonymous]

It’s not that easy.

Florida declared open season on pythons. They are a recent invasive species. There are already hundreds of thousands in Florida. They kill small animals, which now have heavily reduced numbers. The state pays about $200 per foot of dead python.

The program barely made a dent.

Alligators are native to FL. As an apex predator, even if we could get rid of them, you would not like the subsequent downstream effect of their removal from the ecosystem.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm not sure whether an effort to kill alligators is a good idea, but after hearing about several recent incidents, it does strike me as strange that the south is filled with retirement communities with numerous ponds that place elderly people in close proximity to alligators. That doesn't seem right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm not sure whether an effort to kill alligators is a good idea, but after hearing about several recent incidents, it does strike me as strange that the south is filled with retirement communities with numerous ponds that place elderly people in close proximity to alligators. That doesn't seem right.

Have you never been to Florida? It’s basically one big wetland. Of course their are ponds everywhere.

The alligators were there first and there are too many old people anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not that easy.

Florida declared open season on pythons. They are a recent invasive species. There are already hundreds of thousands in Florida. They kill small animals, which now have heavily reduced numbers. The state pays about $200 per foot of dead python.

The program barely made a dent.

Alligators are native to FL. As an apex predator, even if we could get rid of them, you would not like the subsequent downstream effect of their removal from the ecosystem.

People started reading pythons to kill and turn in for a bounty

[Anonymous]

Tolerate? Gators were there first.

But it doesn’t look like the gators are tolerating humans.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of gators in the SE US and there are a lot of people. Given the numbers of both, not that many folks are harmed by alligators every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Story on the radio about an alligator holding a family hostage in Hilton Head requiring hours of local authorities time before it finally moved away.

Why not kill that one gator?

Because they rarely cause any problems. The gator did not hold anyone hostage. It was on their porch and left after everyone turned out the lights. Alligator move around at night specially if it rains. Looks like this one went the wrong way and got stuck on the porch. All the lights kept it there and it was a big show. It did not follow the people to the house or even know people where there.

They are just not that aggressive and they do not see people as food. I have been around them a lot as a little kid through adulthood. Most of the time they just sit there and will move into the water if you get close. The only time there are problem is when people feed the gator. It looks cool and people have fun but an alligator that has been feed will follow people around looking for food. These alligators have been conditioned to go after any splash around people because they think it is food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of gators in the SE US and there are a lot of people. Given the numbers of both, not that many folks are harmed by alligators every year.

My parents live in a golf community in the south so there are gators quite often. At least once a year they send me a photo of an alligator wandering down their street, or multiple gators on the golf course. What I do find mystifying are the HOAs or community regulations that limit yard-fencing. As a result, houses back up to these ponds and you can't just send your kids outside to play because you can't be certain a gator hasn't wandered into your yard.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in FL and there are just way too many alligators to simply not have them around people. Most of the time they are harmless (they are nothing like saltwater crocs, which are in fact aggressive and seek out humans). You can go your whole life there without having a dangerous encounter so long as you take reasonable precautions, which means avoiding the shallow edges of water particularly at dawn and dusk, keeping pets leashed (small dogs and outdoor cats look like prey), don’t let small kids wade in water, don’t feed the alligators if you see them, etc. Also, you assume every body of water, even man-made has snakes and gators in it.

Personally, I never really swam in the lakes down there although I know many people who regularly do. I’m more of a swimming pool gal.

[Anonymous]

Humans don’t own nature you know. We don’t deserve space any more than animals, bugs, or other creatures (including plants). Grow up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of gators in the SE US and there are a lot of people. Given the numbers of both, not that many folks are harmed by alligators every year.

My parents live in a golf community in the south so there are gators quite often. At least once a year they send me a photo of an alligator wandering down their street, or multiple gators on the golf course. What I do find mystifying are the HOAs or community regulations that limit yard-fencing. As a result, houses back up to these ponds and you can't just send your kids outside to play because you can't be certain a gator hasn't wandered into your yard.

People in HOA golf communities don’t really just send their kids out back to play. Before we moved to a golf community, we did have a fenced in yard in an older neighborhood and I did go out on the play set. But once we were in the golf neighborhood that did have ponds/gators we mostly a) had scheduled play dates inside people’s homes, b) played out front in the quiet street (roller blading, sidewalk chalk, etc.), or c) went to the neighborhood swim/country club. Or we swam in the screened-in pool at our house. You are right though that kids don’t just roam around out back by the random retention ponds and whatnot. I’m sure gators may have been a factor, but we also had to avoid golfballs hitting us because our house backed right up to the course. Personally I have no desire to ever live in a gated/HOA/golf neighborhood ever again for that and other reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of gators in the SE US and there are a lot of people. Given the numbers of both, not that many folks are harmed by alligators every year.

My parents live in a golf community in the south so there are gators quite often. At least once a year they send me a photo of an alligator wandering down their street, or multiple gators on the golf course. What I do find mystifying are the HOAs or community regulations that limit yard-fencing. As a result, houses back up to these ponds and you can't just send your kids outside to play because you can't be certain a gator hasn't wandered into your yard.

If your kids are too young to understand what an alligator is, they’re too young to be in the backyard unsupervised anyway. If your kids are old enough to understand what an alligator is but are too stupid to be aware of them, then they should get eaten anyway, just because their absence will make humanity incrementally smarter.

We need more alligators, not less.

[Anonymous]

Florida has an estimated 1.3 million alligators. They’ve been around since the time of the dinosaurs. We are living in their habitat, not the other way around.

[Anonymous]

Well I suppose it's like living in regions that have polar bears. Except that there's way less people in those areas, and those people are much more careful.

The nutsiness in Florida is just mind-blowing.