Alligator Advice

[Mainah]

I'm moving to an area with an alligator population, but they're protected by state law. I'm only concerned about walking my dog. Beyond avoiding water with him, does anyone have any advice?

[FITASC]

Where is this massive gator population? I live in Florida and 99.99999999% of the time, they avoid you.

The only time you have to be REALLY careful is breeding time and making sure you are not near shore areas where the females make their nests - that they WILL protect much like a momma bear and you near her cubs

[Jim567]

I have first hand experience with gators taking dogs.
I can’t tell you the law concerning defending your pets, however I would not hesitate.
Water is everywhere here.
I have personally seen gators dispatched successfully with anything from a 22 to a 45.
They are not particularly afraid of humans and can definitely be aggressive.

[FITASC]

I will disagree about being aggressive - as long as you are not threatening them or their nest. My wife were at a state park that border FL/AL where there are three gators per acre average. At a boat launch we noticed trampled grass and than a gator swimming across in front of us about 30 yards offshore. The gator noticed us, stopped and stared at us; she noticed we were not going near her nest so she slowly swam along; now, if you go swimming in a river or pond with them and your dog, they will look for a snack

[Jim567]

“now, if you go swimming in a river or pond with them and your dog, they will look for a snack”

That aggressive ������

[FITASC]

True, but if you stay away, they will leave you alone (except as I mentioned above. The Blue Hole in the Keys has a small gazebo that hugs the waters edge; wife and I were there and there was a nice 10 footer 2 feet in front under the water and he just stayed there; never bothered us. Amazing how long he held his breath. Down in central Florida during gator season, night time hunting using bang sticks are the norm during mating season; otherwise they tend to stay away unless water levels are low and food sources are rare.

[Jim567]

Proposed extended open season on alligators in Florida.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/enviro...outputType=amp

[Mainah]

Where is this massive gator population?

Coastal NC, so not a massive population by FL standards. I've spent time around alligators in FL, they strike me as an animal to respect- but relatively easy to share space with. But my dog is an idiot.

I've researched the local social media, the greatest area of concern for pets seems to be coyotes. I know how to deal with them. And if the the gators aren't eating the coyotes then maybe my dog stands a chance.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

[Pahoo]

I will disagree about being aggressive

Who?? Gators or people. Both can be aggressively deadly. As for people, the default answer does not have to be a firearm, all the time. Some folks are just not qualified to handle a firearm. .....

One alternative and it works, is a cattle prod, I suggested this to my daughter in Florida the sparking noise has scared some away ....

Be Safe !!!

[603Country]

Just don’t get too close to the gator. They are amazingly quick. You have to see it to believe it.

Years ago, a dog-eating gator was killed in a pond on a western Florida golf course. He had 45 or so rabies tags in his stomach.

And, while playing golf in Florida many years ago, my ball rolled between two small gators in the fairway. My companion, since we had some $ on the match, insisted that I “play it as it lays”. I hit a lifetime great 2 iron from between the gators.

[44caliberkid]

Reminds me of discussions about rattle snake guns. Unless you are eradicating pests, once you’ve seen it, go around it. 98% of gators I’ve seen dive and run when humans come near. One exception was at a public park pond, where people had been feeding their picnic leftover fried chicken or BBQ to the gator who lived there. So when new picnickers showed up, he would come out and approach them. I suppose the same would be true of gators accustomed to eating dogs. 22 LR would be adequate and relatively quiet in a populated area.

[stinkeypete]

About one person will die per year due to alligators. You can read the accounts in Wikipedia. Note the victims that are young men in their early 20s that jumped in the water to wrassel a gator. Don’t be that “Florida man” (who can live anywhere.)

Black bears have killed 67 people since 1900.

62 people die per year from wasps. What’s a good gun for shooting wasps? I recommend .22 Hornet.

Last week, 15,000 died from Covid in the us. Last week.

Be safe. (With millions of vaccinations in the us, the j&j vaccine is not recommended by the cdc when Pfizer or Moderna alternatives exist.) Billions of people are now vaccinated, with your booster, in my county, the data is stunningly clear. Every single person that died from Covid last week was not vaccinated.

Be safe out there, friends. The adverse effect of shooting a gator that is trying to eat your dog is not recorded, but I bet it’s not pretty.

[603Country]

Note that this was about gators and dogs, not people being eaten.

As for the virus vax comment, I will continue to pass. It isn’t a vaccine.

My Mom, back in NE Louisiana, had a big pond full of gators. Never lost a dog, but we kept the kids away from that pond unless there was an adult with them. There were some huge gators.

[langenc]

As has been said Schoot em!!!

[Erno86]

Alligators (especially the young-un's --- measuring two to three feet long --- that are not accustomed to humans) are curious-minded creatures. They can sometimes see people as a source of food --- Such as someone (like me...while surveying Eagle Island - Cape Fear River (we nicknamed it "Evil Island"), North Carolina; who had to do survey topographical work on an egret nesting site, located on a tiny (10 feet in diameter) reed island, in the middle of an alligator infested pond. The young alligators would cruise closely by...hoping that some human would cause a panicked egret nestling to fall into the pond. Which (sorry to say)...one fatally did.

[reynolds357]

Originally Posted by Jim567

I have first hand experience with gators taking dogs.
I can’t tell you the law concerning defending your pets, however I would not hesitate.
Water is everywhere here.
I have personally seen gators dispatched successfully with anything from a 22 to a 45.
They are not particularly afraid of humans and can definitely be aggressive.

I don't know the law on defending pets either. In the heat of the moment, and considering the proximity of a pet to it's walker, it would be pretty hard to definitively say if the gator was attacking the pet or if the gator was attacking the owner and the pet jumped in to defend the owner.

[Jim567]

For years I had a newspaper clipping saved.
A glass bottom boat tour in the panhandle area encountered a large gator swimming with a college student in it’s jaws.
I believe it was sometime in the early 1980s.
Also in the 1980s I remember reading about a deputy sheriff who’s police dog was taken by by gator off duty.
He returned and killed the gator.
It brought him some trouble but I can’t remember what the legal outcome was.

[Jim567]

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0efQ...wuTFrK014PycCg

I have spent a lot of time in the outdoors and gator country.
I never hesitated to keep my family and dogs safe.

As I look back I consider my young self extremely lucky.

[Jim567]

Found it.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A college student attacked and killed by an 11-foot alligator while swimming in a state park and probably never knew what hit him, state wildlife officials said Tuesday.

The alligator seized the swimmer for food, they said, and swam with him past a group of horrified tourists in a glass-bottomed boat.


I tried to find the old story about the gator taking the deputies work dog.
It was impossible to sort through all the articles about alligators taking dogs.
Even surprised me how many.

[Jim567]

https://share.icloud.com/photos/047K...rnULctPLamdh7g

About 1992 or so I was on a canoe trip with the guys three days down the peace River.
On the last day we were coming around the bend in the river and my Labrador had jumped in to take a swim.
About a 6 foot gator came for her.
I had my Smith & Wesson K 22 in my fanny pack always and I pulled it out while I called her back to the canoe.
She made it to the canoe ahead of the gator and I pulled her in as we drifted around the bend.
On the left bank in a beautiful field was a huge banner and a bunch of people.
Greenpeace convention.
������

[eflyguy]

Many years ago I did business with P&W in Jupiter, FL. They have a large rectangular lake in front of their HQ, and there were plenty of gators. Visitor parking up front was always full so you had to walk around the lake. The gators were just sunning themselves on the bank.

.. not sure I would let my dogs wander around, however.

[Jim567]

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/...remains-found/

I have never liked alligators.

I don’t trust any animal that can and will eat you given the chance.

[FITASC]

Just had the plumber to my house and we got to talking about fishing and gators; he was using a boat he got from his dad (turned out had a slightly pinched fuel line), and he was cruising up a small river when he spotted a 16 footer sunning himself on the bank; went around the bend and there was momma and several babies; She immediately went after him as his motor started to sputter and die (his pistol was in his truck); got it going and turned around and then the bull got in the water after him. He decided he was done fishing for the day. Saw a guy with a rig heading in the same direction; told him abut the gators and he laughed and went on; about 10 minutes later you could hear his twin outboards running fast as he came around that bend.

Several friends hunt gators at night. Saw a pic one took where the dark bank was awash with a sea of red eyes - these folks using 357 or 44 bang sticks as the hunting weapon of choice; but that means you have to get the gator close enough to the boat to place in the middle of his head, and then be prepared if necessary, to get in the water to help get him into the boat. As always, duct taping the mouth and tying up the tail are highly recommended.

[DT Guy]

So where do I get the map with all the gator nests, to be sure I don't go near one?


Oh.....


Larry

[Pahoo]

So where do I get the map with all the gator nests, to be sure I don't go near one?

They are in the process of updating them on a daily basis. Our daughter lives near Tampa and where there are lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and watery ditches, you got Gators that mostly, leave you, alone. ...

I have never liked alligators.

Then youre not cooking them right.

Be Safe !!!