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| 2 More Fatal Fla. Gator Attacks Reported; Pitfall of protecting them? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 14 2006, 09:25 PM (514 Views) | |
| tomdrobin | May 14 2006, 09:25 PM Post #1 |
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http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Alligator-Attacks.html quote from link: "MIAMI (AP) -- The bodies of two women, both apparently killed by alligators, were found Sunday less than a week after a similar death in a state that had seen just 17 confirmed fatal attacks by the animals in the previous 58 years." I think having gators in the pond out back, would be just about as dangerous as grizzleys or cougars in my wood lot. Some species represent a danger in populated areas IMO, and should be culled and limited to true wildlife preserves (ie; the everglades). |
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| TexasShadow | May 14 2006, 09:33 PM Post #2 |
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Jane
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I agree. I'm all for conservation of wildlife, but not when it means putting human life at risk. |
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| campingken | May 15 2006, 12:22 PM Post #3 |
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If I lived in Flordia I would be a lot more worried about getting shot in a big city than eaten by a gator. We have become used to the fact that we routinely murder each other on a daily basis but a gator or bear etc attack brings out the lynch mob in us. Ken |
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| passinthru | May 15 2006, 12:30 PM Post #4 |
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John - Gainesville, FL
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People don't repect their habitat. During dry times, as we have had of late, they may travel several miles to new water. The latest attack was in the Ocala Forest so locale had little to do with it. There are hunts every year that help control numbers; I was lucky enough to get a permit some 10 years ago for fifteen gators. Had the time of my life, but never got picked again out of the hunting lottery. |
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| cmoehle | May 15 2006, 01:29 PM Post #5 |
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Chris - San Antonio TX
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Same here with raccoons and armadillos. During dry spells they venture out further and further in their grubbing, eventually grubbing up vegetables and flowers. Apartment and strip mall construction and widening 1604 is also chasing them from their old haunts. Now the raccoons we can trap and take off a mile or so down the road. Never could trap the armadillo, neighbor shot him. Animals need to respect our habitats as well. |
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Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order. --Barry Goldwater | |
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| passinthru | May 15 2006, 02:27 PM Post #6 |
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John - Gainesville, FL
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I can see the headlines now: Raging Armadillos Kill five in Home Invasion
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| TexasShadow | May 15 2006, 02:36 PM Post #7 |
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Jane
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we've got rattlesnakes living around us. I've never seen one, but I know they're around. If I do see one, it's a dead snake. the rest of the snakes are free to come and go now that we don't have chickens. like chris, we trap coons and haul them off. the armadillo comes around when the weather is dry and he's looking for green stuff to munch. I leave him (or her) alone. we don't have a lot of life-threatening animals here in this country. gators, bears, lions and poisonous vipers are about it. but one of them is too many if they're in my territory. I'll stay out of theirs or take my chances if I trespass, but they've got to be held to the same rule. If they come into my territory, they've had it. |
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| Linda | May 15 2006, 03:08 PM Post #8 |
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Your habitat at some point used to be their habitat, I'm willing to bet. These critters are in populated areas because (the majority of the time) humans have altered or taken over their familiar space. I don't know of many wild critters who understand or respect human boundaries. They go where the food is when there's no food in their usual stomping grounds. An alligator or croc doesn't distinguish between human and animal when it comes to food. Maybe the people who were killed might have been a little more aware of their surroundings and the dangers inherent in them.
The difference being, you know their territory. They don't know yours. How on earth can you hold them to the same rule?
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| cmoehle | May 15 2006, 03:08 PM Post #9 |
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Chris - San Antonio TX
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We're south of Jane. The armadillos are bigger down here. Priodontes giganteus. We have many incidents of home invasion!![]() ![]() Edit, Linda, I'm bigger. |
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Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order. --Barry Goldwater | |
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| roscoe | May 15 2006, 04:24 PM Post #10 |
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When iI lived in NYC the rats were larger than that.
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| Tom | May 15 2006, 05:06 PM Post #11 |
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Most of us have a better chance of getting bit by a Pit Bull or shot on the street. When in FL. I try to respect the gators play area.
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| tomdrobin | May 15 2006, 08:52 PM Post #12 |
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I've vacationed in Florida. And, have noticed there is not the level of developement around inland lakes that we have here in MI. I recall eating at a resturant outside Orlando, and alongside was a beautiful pond with a walkway. There were gator signs posted. Not safe to take a dip, or to go wading. I personally think dangerous critters that won't hesitate to mistake you for a real meal should be irradicated from populated areas. That's why in rural MI where I live we don't have Cougars, Wolves and Bears. Our forefathers cleared the land and eliminated the predators that were a danger to humans. I think that is the appropriate thing to do. Rattlesnakes are very rare in our area. Even so if I spotted one in my back yard it would get whacked/shot or otherwise dispatched. Since the good peta folks have destroyed the fur trade. Hardly anyone hunts Racoon any more, resulting in overpopulation. Lots of them hit by cars on the road now, and I've heard a lot higher incidents of disease like rabies. My brother in law was swamped with the critters all over his house in the woods. There answer was to trap and release them (30 as I recall). Near a wildlife area. I bet the folks living next door to the wildlife preserve really appreciated the sudden population increase of the Racoons in their area. If they are overpopulated, the best thing you can do for them IMO is euthanasia. Trap and gas or lead poisening. That leaves a much better environment for the rest of them to exhist in. |
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| TexasShadow | May 16 2006, 12:45 AM Post #13 |
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Jane
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I love watching wild animals and don't want to see the day when are none, but I don't think humans should have to defer to them. We have big conservation areas already set aside for them. We don't need to make room for them in our territories. When I go camping in Yellowstone, I accept the risk that a bear, wolf, bison, or moose might ruin my day if I'm not careful, but I don't want that risk in my own backyard. Granted, the animal doesn't understand the rules, but that doesn't mean I'm supposed to let it intimidate me and keep me from enjoying the outdoors. |
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| Fr. Mike | May 16 2006, 06:32 PM Post #14 |
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My Racoon Story: While living in Seattle in the late 70's there was a war that broke out between some nasty Racoons and the folks who lived on Phiney Ridge. It seems that a couple of animal lovers had decided that it was their duty to feed all the wild animals that lived on the "Ridge" And the proceeded to do this---for years and years. The Racoons decided to take advantage of this system and decided that they should breed and bring forth a multitude of new "Coons" to this land of milk and honey. And multiply they did.....by the hundreds. After years and years of this continued symbiotic relationship, and on a particularly harsh winter day, Mr. and Mrs. Animal Lovers packed up and went south as snowbirds leaving behind the snow, cold, and hundreds upon hundreds of cold hungry deprived Racoons. The "Coons" declared outright warfare. Homes were broken into, buildings entered, men, women, and children were assaulted. The police were called out. To their surprise they were met by throngs of refugees fleeing their homes. The streets were overun by hundreds of Racoons. Animal control was called and simply overwhelmed. Animal rights activists soon showed up at the scene---and they too were attacked. It cost the city a small fortune to track down and kill these militant foes. When Mr. and Mrs. Animal Lovers returned from the sunny desert southwest, they were presented with a bill for thousands upon thousands of dollars. They objected and this case entered the hall of justice. Mr. and Mrs. Animal Lovers won. There were no regulations or laws in affect covering such a situation. Morally they were wrong but legally they were right. The same happened in the civil suits that errupted by angry neighbors who suffered property damage at the hands [paws] of these Racoons. Somebody set fire to Mr. and Mrs. animal Lovers home in revenge and they eventually were forced from the neighborhood. Everybody lost because of the actions taken by this foolish couple who like to feed wild animals regardless of the results. As I understand it, "Gators" were protected and allowed to breed to their current population level. It must be too high because now the "Gators" are using humans as a source or protein. The ones I have seen on the Discovery Channel are huge and frightening even on film. And they can run faster than an old priest or his little dog. So I won't be visiting Florida anytime soon. |
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A humble servant of the Lord Jesus Christ Don't forget to say your prayers! The unborn have rights too. | |
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| passinthru | May 16 2006, 07:01 PM Post #15 |
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John - Gainesville, FL
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If it helps any, while gators are pretty fast for a short distance, they aren't the best at cornering, so don't run in a straight line should the need arise. In the water, they are both sneaky and agile so best not to confront them there. I had a friend who lived near the woods(swampy) and also next to a retention pond. He and his wife had a small boy, two or three at the time. While we were visiting, I saw a gator about 200 feet out in the pond. I decided to show them something that might keep their son from being hurt. I took a stick(more of a switch) and started spashing at the water's edge; not wildly splashing, more like a small animal might do if washing or playing in the water. They saw what I knew would happen, the gator turned and started in our direction, not with any speed, but with interest. That was over 60 yards away. As a gator moves, you usually only see its eyes and the tip of its nose above water, but as it nears its prey it will usually go under and surprise its prey froma very short distance. Now if it had been their unattended son or attended, but unaware parents, it could have been a disaster. I think it may be man who is the only species who doesn't "understand the rules." |
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