[cappyjon431]

I want to apologize if anyone thought I was "bashing" or just as bad, "lecturing." It was certainly not my intention. We are all adults and should be capable of civil discourse. We all have our own opinions and should be respectful of the opinions of others.

I don't post often, but this is a topic that is very important to me. I grew up in south Florida and have been around gators most of my life. I lived in Miami when gators were not protected and you could go into any roadside souvenier stand and buy a stuffed and shellacked baby gator wearing a cute little outfit or a gator claw back scratcher. I was young so I didn't even realize how disgusting this was. I remember when they faced extinction here in Florida and they were placed on the edangered species list (I think it was in 1967). Fortunately, over the last several decades of enforcing laws aimed at protecting gators they have made a comeback and are no longer endangered. Hopefully by abiding by laws (such as the laws prohibiting the feeding of gators), alligators will continue to be an integral part of our beautiful ecosystem. I love seeing them in their natural habitat and firmly believe that humans and gators can coexist.