Alligators in the wild!

[ronsig]

When I am in Florida, I love to see alligators in the wild.
Recently, I saw a gator eating an animal.
I wonder, if somebody here can identify the "food".
I have a video:
YouTube - ‪Alligator Death Roll and Dinner‬‏
The animal is already dead, and there is no blood. It almost looks like it is a stuffed animal.

I was lucky to see alligators mating, here is that video:
YouTube - ‪Alligators Mating‬‏

Once, a gator crossed my path:
YouTube - ‪Alligator High Walking‬‏

Watching alligators hatch in the wild is on my bucket list. I came close by having one hatch in my hand at Gatorama last year:
YouTube - ‪Alligator baby hatching in my hands at Gatorama‬‏

I would love to see a crocodile in the wild too. They are so much harder to find than alligators.
I would never have a pet alligator, but I love to observe them in the wild!

Sigrid

 

[expressmailtome]

Very nice videos! I enjoyed the one with the gator crossing the road and then entering the water!

Matt

 

[April]

Awesome vids,when I lived in FL I would stand on the dock of the neighborhood lake and watch the Gators sun on the banks.

 

[Chantilly Lace]

I really do like to see them, they are so graceful and kind of...peaceful in a weird way. Is that thing in the first video a hog?

 

[ronsig]

I really do like to see them, they are so graceful and kind of...peaceful in a weird way. Is that thing in the first video a hog?

Thanks for your kind comments, everybody. Glad to hear that I am not the only one who loves these "dinosaurs".
I am not sure what the animal in the first video is. There were several people watching, and nobody was sure. Maybe a hog, or a possum?

Sigrid

 

[Anne & Gang]

they are majestic animals...majestic

 

[waterfaller1]

The animal in the first video definitely has the snout and tail of a possum. Just be careful, the Florida Fish & Game does not take kindly with people getting too close to them in the wild. You can be arrested.

 

[Chantilly Lace]

The animal in the first video definitely has the snout and tail of a possum. Just be careful, the Florida Fish & Game does not take kindly with people getting too close to them in the wild. You can be arrested.

You must have seen the same shows I saw with kids getting arrested for feeding some gators. They should though, that could kill someone in the future. Stupid, irresponsible behavior. We go on airboat tours often and the stupid boat drivers would "feed the birds" so the gators would come closer. Stupid.

 

[waterfaller1]

You must have seen the same shows I saw with kids getting arrested for feeding some gators. They should though, that could kill someone in the future. Stupid, irresponsible behavior. We go on airboat tours often and the stupid boat drivers would "feed the birds" so the gators would come closer. Stupid.

Actually, I knew someone who was arrested, for "harassing them". All he was doing was standing close to it when the lady officer pulled up.

 

[ronsig]

I support the laws regarding feeding and harassing alligators. The major problem is feeding. People cannot stand it when alligators don't move. So they throw food at them. The alligator associates people with food and becomes a problem gator who will end up dead.
Telling people does not help. "What good is it if I cannot feed it?" was one reply. Plastic bottles, sticks, and cups are also popular items that are thrown at gators.

I keep my distance and use a zoom. In all my videos, I am on a path in a public park. You can tell in the video where the gator crosses in front of me. If a person got arrested for standing close to it, then I hope the charges were dropped in the end. In the Everglades, there are paths with alligators laying right next to them.

Another problem is people with dogs who let them walk to close to the canal. The gator goes for the dog, and sometimes makes a mistake and bites the person. It always ends bad for the gator.

Sigrid

 

[Sunnyside]

I lived in Florida, Sarasota. I loved to watch the gators and I would film them also! They are beautiful and majestic and they amaze me.

Another thing people don't realize is when you report a nuisance gator it isn't 'tagged and released' it is killed if it is over 4 or 5 feet? Not sure which one, I think 5 feet. I did have one attack me and it was very scary. If my son was not there I think I would of been killed....So, yeah, you need to respect the gators!

 

[GG.]

Handling of nuisance gators varies by state law

nice videos you made

 

[ronsig]

I lived in Florida, Sarasota. I loved to watch the gators and I would film them also! They are beautiful and majestic and they amaze me.

Another thing people don't realize is when you report a nuisance gator it isn't 'tagged and released' it is killed if it is over 4 or 5 feet? Not sure which one, I think 5 feet. I did have one attack me and it was very scary. If my son was not there I think I would of been killed....So, yeah, you need to respect the gators!

Yes, the trapper that catches nuisance gators gets to keep the animal for the meat and the leather.

Getting attacked by one must have been scary.I am glad your son was there to save you.

Close to Sarasota is Myakka State Park with huge numbers of gators. We go there often too. Even kayaking is allowed where gators are.

Here my favourite pictures from my visit to the everglades:

Sigrid

 

[Sunnyside]

Great pic!!!! I have one sort of like that except it is a turtle not a baby gator. I lived 15 mins from the Myakka State Park, I have a ton of pics from there. I will have to pull my pics out and show them to you. The gator attack was my fault...I was close by the water and I was on my knees pulling weeds. I was new to Florida and I really didn't know about the gators and I never should of been down there on my knees at sunset, stupid. So I was throwing these clumps in the canal and on one of my throws this alligator came up and out and on top of me!! My son came running and hit the gator with a shovel and the gator just slid back into the water. It was scary and it woke me up to my surroundings! Another thing that I thought was neat are the Gar Fish, they remind me of the alligators.

 

[ronsig]

I am looking forward to your pictures.
In the meantime, here is another one of mine, in the Everglades. A gator right by the walk way, not bothering anybody.

Sigrid

 

[Angelicarboreals]

Very cool!