Silver lake Park, walking her dogs, a big gator dragged her into a pond, one dog injured

Well that doesn't happen often. I bet it was attracted by the dogs.

I remember a guy golfing in FL got ate by 13' one

They are dangerous sometimes for sure. There was a 12 footer hanging around on the river here. He had a particular bend staked out most of the time. I tended to be more careful wading to stake the deep end of a drowner in that area early and late season lol.

Some trash shot him along with about a dozen others a few years back along a 15 mile stretch of the river. I found them floating and left to rot when running a turtle line. The poachers didn't even take the tail meat. Just a complete waste. I would have rather had the gator in the river than those poachers.

If they didn't take any of the animals are they really poachers? I would say they are a lower form of scum just to kill them and leave them.

Is that river used by people that do water sports (wake boarding, etc etc)?


That’d be my guess, or just a regular ole bunghole that would shoot just to shoot

Nope. It is narrow with lot's of stumps and such. Just some moron or morons out shooting stuff for fun I am sure.

Fair point.

X2

Gator story Found her that morning and killed the gator.

That's too bad they shot them for no reason, kinda glad we have very few vipers and no gator here!

Just like folks going into snake country and then getting scared and killing snakes!

We have all of the above lol.

I would not pick strawberries if we had snakes like you do Shane, lol

Wonder where the lady from? The deep south not all paradise. If it don't sting you, bite, poison, stick, cut, pump you full of venom or eat you it most likely some invasive specie like a gecko. No wait we got pythons now so mark off harmless invasive species to. Easy to get mess up down here in the right places.

One thing said Florida and one said Georgia

maybe fl will rethink their gator hunting regs. have a look at what ga is doing

A darned shame for sure. I absolutely HATE to see ANY animal just wasted and left to rot. If you are going to break the law, at least salvage the meat (not that I am condoning breaking the law in the first place).

Well gator attacks in Florida will only increase in the future. Record number of people moving in who have no clue about gators. I spent 40 years in florida and had many close calls with gators, some too close.
Florida only allows 10,000 gators to be harvested. The populations is well over 1 million. Less then 1% is removed every year and yet the FWC complains about lack of funds.Would be a great way to generate needed money. Would not hurt the population if raised to even 25,000 or 50,ooo.
Gators are found in every mud hole you come across. When I say mud hole, I mean just that. Nothing like finding a 10 footer in a rut formed by off-road vehicles or wade fishing and have a large gator pop up just a few feet from you in waist deep water. I gave up that sport soon after.I have total respect for them.Certian things you don't do. Don't go near the water at dawn or dusk, prime feeding times. And be very vigilant during breeding season.And walk your pets away from the waters edge. Their predators, all they see is food and territorial issues.
I NOW live in SC and find myself looking around for the tall tale signs of gator activity even when I know the likely hood is low.Even though last year in a eastern county, I had to get in the water with a five footer not knowing if alive or dead to remove it from a beaver trap. All I could see was the last foot of the tail. Luck would have it the 330 Belisle turned him into turtle bait.Common sense goes a long way in gator country. Sarge

I trapped a large plantation for beaver over 10 years ago. There were over 18 gators at least 8 over 8 feet in the small lake that the owner lived on. Gators had come up In the yard after his dogs several times. The owner, I was told, ask for the state to issue permits to remove them. He was given "one" for the nuisance trapper. Shortly after that a large gator came up in the yard after a very young grand child. Luckily the parent was close. He asked the state again and was met with hesitation and resistance.

The next year I saw no gators of any size. I ask what happened to them. I was told they just left.

Sometimes it is better if the animal just leaves when the governing body's can,t or won,t protect you, even to help you protect yourself.

Well said Kirk and very true.

That is a good point Kirk. In some situations people have to do what they have to do.

In the case I was talking about those gators were more of a nuisance to me trying to turtle trap than anyone else on that isolated stretch of river. The people that shot them were scum based solely on the fact that they shot them and left them to rot. I'd rather have the gators on the river than the scum who shot them.

Not arguing but would like to point out: that "scum" may have lost a loved one to a gator and are seeking revenge. Not sayin its right, but just pointing something out.

Well I guess that is possible but the one and only verified alligator fatlality in Louisiana occurred in 1774 so it is highly unlikely.

https://www.heraldguide.com/editorial/louisianas-only-fatal-alligator-attack/

When you live amongst them for your whole life you realize that fear and T.V has overblown the threat. I am not saying they aren't dangerous, just that they aren't that much of a problem.

Of course I think we probably hunt them harder judged by yearly harvest as a percentage of their total population than they do in other places. Maybe that is why we have so few problems.

As a side note, the guys that have gator tags for the area I was speaking of were not to happy with all the wasted gators. I know those guys pretty well and this happened a couple weeks before gator season that year. They had been after that 12 footer for a couple seasons. When I motored up to them while they were putting in at the boat ramp and told them what I had seen they had some choice words.

So what is the difference in killing those dangerous things and killing the poisionous snakes that everyone on here talks about.
Is it because the gators have a market value and the snakes don't?

Valid question.

For me personally I only kill cottonmouths when they are raiding crawfish traps or when I feel I am in real danger of being bitten. Those things can be cantankerous and will literally charge. I have been charged by lots of cottonmouths but never a gator.

Rattlesnakes I tend to leave alone. When I do kill one I eat it and save the hide to give to a friend that makes stuff out of them.

I saw my first rattler in wy on gravel road last fall, 19 trips or more to wy, glad I never saw one here