BDH Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 What the heck is going on in Florida? I just heard this morning that another women was killed and eaten by an alligator, which I think makes three in the last week. Is this the classic man encroaching on gator territory and there will be fatal conflicts... or have gators decided that humans make an especially tasty snack, and are openly hunting us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry White Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Dry conditions, low water ect forces them out of their normal patterns and into smaller and more crowded conditions. Less food and more gators and unaware people sitting around dangling thier feet in the water and just going into harms way brings this on. Really hard to blame the gators, they are just being gators.------Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cjblackmon Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Most gators are generally scared of people. Unless you get the morons out there that like to feed them and the gator associates people with handouts, that's where the problem lies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmittyFL Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 The problem is FL treats them like the damned Bald Eagle and have for years. Now they are everywhere. They need to open season on them for a few years and thin out the herd. I agree if you are feeding them you are asking for trouble, but people shouldn't have gators in their pools or garages either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry White Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Probaly some of all the above, dry conditions, too many gators, too many dumbass people. If a gator expects you to chunk him a chicken and you dont hes not adverse to taking you instead.-----Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 I remember 20 years ago or so when there was real concern over gator populations... It's definitely changed since then A managed season on them probably would not be a bad thing, at this point, much like deer season, etc. Agressive relocation away from populated areas wouldn't hurt anything, either - I know they tend to do this when they get above 10' (which is already a big lizard...). People need to get smarter about them, though. My dad lives near St. Pete - he's watched some tourist types make some real idiot moves on the golf courses around there, in the name of taking a picture with a gator... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schoonie Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Hey Smitty Thinning the heard works both ways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmittyFL Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Hey SmittyThinning the heard works both ways That's very true. I know one won't get within 20 ft of me without a bullet in the noggin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 (edited) (told to me at a S. Louisiana USPSA match) Mrs. Boudreaux - "Hey Boudreaux, I've got goewd news and I got bad news? Which you want first?" Boudreaux - "I've had a bad day - give me da goewd news first." Mrs. Boudreaux - "Well Boudreaux, that new car yous bougt run real goewd. It don't use no oil. It gets good on da gas. Its a good car!" Boudreaux - [puzzled] "Well, dats good. What da bad news?" Mrs. Boudreaux - "Well, you know dat pak down dear by da swamp?" Boudreaux - "Yeah" Mrs. Boudreaux - "Well, I took our 13 kids down dear to play at da pak. And then all the sudden, one of them onry gators come up out a da swamp and snatched up one of our kids and drug him away!!!" Boudreaux - "That's awful!!! Which one was it?" Mrs. Boudreaux - "How should I know, all dem gators look da same!!!" Edited May 15, 2006 by BigDave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Baker's dozen now minus one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Yup. Same problem we're having with cougars here. The upshot is that if they keep eating dumbsh*t "look at fluffy the pet <insert carnivore of your choice here>" eventually the problem will sort itself out. Is capping a 'gator a felony...like shooting a grizzly is here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Yup. Same problem we're having with cougars here. The upshot is that if they keep eating dumbsh*t "look at fluffy the pet <insert carnivore of your choice here>" eventually the problem will sort itself out. Is capping a 'gator a felony...like shooting a grizzly is here? I wonder how many people get mauled, bitten, stung or eaten by "<insert carnivore of your choice here>" because they watch the guy in shorts on TV messing with said animal as if they pose no threat to a human..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 "Let's see how pissed of he gets when I jam my thumb up his butt!!!" :lol: Well, you know, we've done our best as a society to legislate Darwin out of the equation (witness the "don't stick your finger in that light socket" type stickers that are on every product, now...). Because of that, much like the gator and the mountain lion, stupid people are reproducing at an exponential rate now that we've protected them. Perhaps a little "herd thinning" between the "protected species" isn't such a bad thing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Makes you wonder why when there is a problem between the species,it is always the animal that gets killed, we might do better to cull some of the dumbasses that incite the attacks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFlowers Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 And of course its always the poor gator's fault. I think it was 2004 in the Tampa/St Pete area. Three kids had been throwing rocks at this gator who was minding his own business in a small pond. Well, come late afternoon, its hot and these three shining examples of anti-darwinism protection in society decide to go swimming in the pond to cool off. Needless to say, one did not survive the experience. And they killed that poor old gator for biting that kid! Should have given him a medal and a No Trespassing sign! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carinab Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 This whole thread reminds me of an old Far Side cartoon....Two alligators are sunning themselve on a beach and one notices a human jumping in the water a short distance away. The caption reads, "Oooh, I love those! They're soft on the outside and crunchy on the inside." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Middle Man Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 (edited) Is capping a 'gator a felony...like shooting a grizzly is here? Parts of Alabama will have a gator season in the near future. Florida has a limited season with 2500 gator hunting/trapping permits. Mississippi allowed 50 gator tags in a 2005 season. Georgia, Texas, and Louisana also have similar seasons. Buy a tag and bag a nice pair of boots...just don't take your fiberglass bass boat . Edited May 15, 2006 by Middle Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Ralphie May (the comedian) has a great rant on this, but more in line with the Sigfried and Roy tiger victory...errrrr...I mean tragedy. .... He says something to the effect "animal rights? Animals don't need no rights! When things get too rough, they handle it them-f***ing-selves!!! Animals don't need you!!!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schoonie Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 How about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 How about this? Excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDH Posted May 16, 2006 Author Share Posted May 16, 2006 Do any of you know how they catch those darn things? I've seen it enough on the news now, but all you see is them dragging the gator up the bank with a rope and noose around its' neck. It seems like the 'draggin up the bank' part wouldn't be that tough, but the 'getting the noose around the head' part would be the challenge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carinab Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 (edited) Aw heck no! There would be dozens of cowboys round these parts that could lasso a 'gator! I'd bet they'd think it'd be easier than getting a rope on a longhorn! I still think that rodeo is the direct result of bored, drunk cowboys trying to entertain themselves... Wow! I think I just had an idea for a new sport. Gator rodeo.... Hmmmm.... Edited May 16, 2006 by carinab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Heck, gator rodeo ain't new...what do you think drunk cajuns do in their spare time.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AikiDale Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Gators should be extinct. We nearly had them wiped out years ago. Then a vast right brain conspiracy plotted to save them. Apparently those who sell boots, purse and belt manufacturers and that guy from Australia who only owns one pair of shorts saw an end to their income streams when the last gator bit the dust. They managed to buy a congressman cheap and had the beast put on the endangered species list (the gator, not the congress critter). They serve no useful purpose I can see. They don't taste as good as chicken and they eat snorkeling women. It's high time they joined the rest of the dinosaurs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 (edited) Gators should be extinct. We nearly had them wiped out years ago. Then a vast right brain conspiracy plotted to save them. Apparently those who sell boots, purse and belt manufacturers and that guy from Australia who only owns one pair of shorts saw an end to their income streams when the last gator bit the dust. They managed to buy a congressman cheap and had the beast put on the endangered species list (the gator, not the congress critter). They serve no useful purpose I can see. They don't taste as good as chicken and they eat snorkeling women. It's high time they joined the rest of the dinosaurs. No really, you do think they need protection like the Spotted Venusian Pine Borer, don't you? Edited May 16, 2006 by Merlin Orr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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