I feel sorry for this guy's family but.....

Oldman · July 16, 2005, 01:55:56 PM

41 year old man swimming in a canal with a known 12 foot gator does not come back out. You don't feed a gator; you don't pet a gator, and you dang sure better not swim with a 12 foot gator.

Last year out at the lake (which is about 2 miles from the house) I saw these folks from out of state feeding a gator marsh mellows. Now he is not the biggest gator we have out in this lake. I would say he is in the 10-11 foot range. Before I could get to these folks and explain why we don't feed gators, here, that ole boy came out of water and grab their small dog. Dog gone bye bye. What is really scary is their little 5-6 year old girl was standing next to the dog. The only reason the gator did not take the little girl is that dog is the preferred food.

The point here is that gator would never come up to the shore line if those folks were not feeding it. The mother totally came apart after I explain that while their actions were not only very very stupid, and that they should learn to read as there are 500 damn sign out there saying DON"T FEED THE GATORS but that they sure better be real glad that their little dog was with them. You see it was the little girl that was throwing out the marsh mellows. Talk about stupid parents!!!!!

Now yesterday a man swims with a known 12 foot gator. Not only did he lose his life, the gator was later killed.

Now for those of us here who have never been around a gator, understand that gators are afraid of humans--right up to the point when some fool starts to feed them. After a couple times of being fed a gator has no fear, and then is when a person better hope they don't run out of marsh mellows--kind of like that family did last year.

In my lifetime I cannot tell you just how many times I've seen with my own eyes people doing dumb stuff with gators. I think when people go on vacation they must have an auto shut off in their brains as sure as all out doors they don't read signs when it comes to gators.

Years back at this same lake I saw a guy get a real education. He was using a top water plug and trying get what looked like a 3foot or so gator to hit in it--or at least that is what he thought. If you don't know how to figure the number of inches between the eye balls and what it means in feet, boy are you ever in for a suprise!

Well the gator bit. The man gets into the water about knee high with net and his pole. Well the gator turns out to be more like 4 1/2 foot long. Now picture this: The gator is just floating there plug in its mouth, and the guy wades up to it. The guy got a Bass net and he is trying to get it over the head of the gator--which at that point the gator goes nuts-o!. Short story the line broke as the man was trying to net the gator. Gator turns trying to get away. Man drops pole and net and grabs tail of gator; gator turns and graps man.

That man got an instant Diploma! He graduated top of his class with a hard 4.0 GPA! IMO it was score one for the gator~~! Later the guy said something to the effect: I did not think that gator could cut through the piano wire! I'm sorry but at that point I laugh so hard the guy got pissed at me. In my mind the word fool now has another meaning. BTW the gator got away... it did not take that guy long to figure out he was holding the wrong end of a long set of teeth! (Young gators have very sharp teeth. They don't round out until they have eaten their 50th turtle or so.)

Generally it is one NO FEED THE GATOR sign and one NO SWIMMING sign that are posted together. Again I feel sorry for that family, but the man has (had) only himself to blame. To make this even worse the guy lived here and knew the gator was in the water! The word STUPID just does not even come close to covering that.

With that said, if you want to see gators fed? Then go to Bush Gardens in Tampa. 4 pm everyday if I remember correctly. Just don't play with them here in the wild. BTW the lake by my house I bet has a hundred gators in it. You want to see wild gators...no problem I can sure show them to ya. You want to feed wild gators and I'm headed to the high country. You want to swim with wild gators and I will ask you to give to me your Power Of Attorney. [:p]

Olds

MWS · July 16, 2005, 06:02:35 PM

Speaking of gator, the Food Network (BBQ with Bobby Flay) had a segment on smoked alligator ribs. I believe the restaurant being featured was from Florida. Ever tried em?

Mike 

"Men like to barbecue, men will cook if danger is involved".
-John Wayne

Oldman · July 16, 2005, 06:24:14 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I believe the restaurant being featured was from Florida. Ever tried em?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Nope I ate so much gator and rattlesnake as a kid if you put them in front of me today I would excuse myself and go get a McDonald's hamburger.... LOL!

Olds

eightball · July 16, 2005, 07:58:49 PM

Olds,
I am with you on that one. Here in Louisiana we have been "enjoying" that stuff for years. We kinda get a kick out of the tourists that pay for it and go home and brag a bout it.
JW[8]

Oldman · July 16, 2005, 10:09:39 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by eightball
 Olds,
...We kinda get a kick out of the tourists that pay for it and go home and brag a bout it.
JW[8]
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">eightball, Those are the lucky ones...like the dude with the fish plug; well his leg looked like it have been through a wood chipper and someone super-glued it back together. I often thought that, he now goes to Canada for vactions--LOL! I bet he don't fish for gator anymore--Fool! Everytime I re-tell this story I get to laughing.

Makes a body wonder just how stupid and foolish someone can be...

BTW I hear over in your part of the world your gators are not as friendly as ours are to tourists. What you folks got no marsh mellows? LOL!

Plus I hear they get real big too. Now the biggest one I remember seeing in the past couple of years over here in this lake I would guess-a-mate at being just around a 14 footer. Seen him sunning himself on the bank just off of the bush field. He is just one huge lizard. And I can tell you nothing worries him!

Hell a 38 cal. would just bounce off of his skull. You would have to be up close and personal with a 12 gauge bang stick in both hands to stop that guy.

Olds

tsquared · July 16, 2005, 10:10:53 PM

Good story Olds. It kind of reminds me of the tourists you see up in this neck of the woods feeding bears and worse yet, getting their kids to feed the bears. My brother told some people one time that taking pictures of their 6 year old daughter feeding the black bear wasn't the smartest thing they've ever done as parents. THEY GOT PISSED AT HIM!!![:0] Go figure....
T2

Oldman · July 16, 2005, 10:21:06 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">It kind of reminds me of the tourists you see up in this neck of the woods feeding bears and worse yet, getting their kids to feed the bears.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

*Olds quotes himself* I think when people go on vacation they must have an auto shut off in their brains as sure as all out doors they don't read signs...

tsquared... Opps I see my friend with the fish plug is now playing with your black bears. Ask your brother if the guy was walking with a gimp~~Oh I'm bad~~!

Now you know why I'm self-employed and I never ever go on vaction... I fear the highly contagious "Stupid Disease!"
Olds

tsquared · July 17, 2005, 12:47:13 AM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I think when people go on vacation they must have an auto shut off in their brains <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> I tried to stop some tourists from going out in a very overloaded boat to do some whale watching in Juan de Fuca Strait.(Between Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula, Washington State) I was just coming in from cutting a fishing trip short because of the westerly wind that had started to scream.They wouldn't listen cause the inlet where the marina was located was calm, bygod, and they were going out. [V] I stopped in at the marina office to give them a piece of my mind about letting these noobs go out but they said they told them the same thing. They were definitely suffering from your auto brain shut off thing.
T2

Kummok · July 17, 2005, 04:28:11 AM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by tsquared
 ......It kind of reminds me of the tourists you see up in this neck of the woods feeding bears and worse yet, getting their kids to feed the bears......
T2
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I think I've solved that problem here in Alaska....I feed the tourist PARENTS to the bears....I'm hoping that this effort will clean up the gene pool and keep it from going downline![:0][:D][}:)][;)][:D]

35 years of extinguishing smoking stuff and now I'm wondering WHY!
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA

tsquared · July 17, 2005, 02:20:06 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I think I've solved that problem here in Alaska....I feed the tourist PARENTS to the bears....<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> Now that's a good idea--you're a bad man, Kummok![;)]
T2

TheDude · July 18, 2005, 05:20:22 PM

I live in Northwestern Ontario. We don't have gators or grizzes, but we do have Black Bear. Black bears don't generally like people and almost never attack them. Last year the were one or two bears in town every night digging through garage and scaring dogs. That is until several bears died mysteriously of 30-06-itis. The point is that in 25 or so years I have never heard of anyone getting attacked by a bear in this area. That is of course until last summer, when, in a small town called Ear Falls a couple hours north of where I live, there was a big story about a man attacked by a black bear. He was a little ruffled and got a few stitches, but he lived. He was a "naturalist" tourist who said he was hiking through the woods when he was attacked by the bear. Then the MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources) found out that his companion had filmed the incident with a camcorder. It turns out that our intrepid hero was feeding the bear M&M's! When he ran out of M&M's the bear got mad and tried to shake a few more out of him. Once the bear got bored he walked away. The worst part of the whole ordeal is that the MNR had to destroy the bear after it attacked a human, when in my opinion they should have destroyed the naturalist for being stupid.

TheDude · July 18, 2005, 05:33:13 PM

Since I'm talking about black bears and stupidity, a couple winters ago a bear went through the ice just offshore from a First Nation community just across the lake from my town. Not wanting the bear to drown, a few dozen people turned out to get the bear out of the water. The problem was the bear didn't much appreciate the help. After an hour or two of fighting off the rescuers and trying to get out of the water, the bear was finally exhausted and they were able to get a rope around it and get it out of the water. The bear was half dead and frozen so they decided to warm him up. In a stroke of genius, they put a bear in the holding cell of their police station. After a few hours of rest and warmth, the bear was wide awake and guess what? He didn't like being in that holding cell anymore than any of the other yahoos who have spent the night there. The important difference here is that the bear weighed 400lbs and had huge claws. He tore up the cell with a vengence. Eventually the MNR was called in and were able to tranqualize the bear and relocate somewhere a little less enclosed.

The lesson to learned from all this is that gators will be gators, bears will be bears and people will be stupid.

Foam Steak · July 18, 2005, 11:52:43 PM

On a side note, I once heard that most people who get snake bit are men and the bites occur in the lower arms. Wonder why? LOL!

People have to realize wild animals are, well, wild. Don't try to pet the momma moose unless you would like to be stomped into a puddle of human jelly.

car54 · July 19, 2005, 12:18:14 AM

I went to the Grand Canyon a while back. They had park rangers stationed at major areas asking all the adults if they are Mr. and Mrs. so and so. It turns out one of their children was playing too close to the cliff and fell off. Fortunately, the child was stopped by a tree 100 ft below.Yes, it does seem that people on vacation do stupid things.