Quote:
Originally Posted by Taltarzac725
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The above links were all very interesting to read and informative....
I just found this on wikipedia......I guess we're pretty safe, somewhat.
Unless we go swimming in the Everglades.
However, that said, the infection from the alligator bite is the thing to be concerned about, especially nowadays ....especially with that flesh eating bacteria from accidents in ponds and lakes in the south.
" Human deaths and injuries
Main article:
List of fatal alligator attacks in the United States by decade
Alligators are capable of killing humans, but are generally wary enough not to see them as a potential prey. Mistaken identity leading to an attack is always possible, especially in or near cloudy waters. Alligators are often less aggressive towards humans than large
crocodile species, a few of which (mainly the
Nile and
Saltwater Crocodiles) may prey on humans with some regularity.
Alligator bites are serious injuries due to the reptile's sheer bite force and risk of infection. Even with medical treatment, an alligator bite may still result in a fatal infection.
As human populations increase, and as they build houses in low lying areas, or hunt and fish near water, there are inevitably incidents where alligators threaten, or at least appear to threaten, human life.
Humans tend to exaggerate causes of death that seem unusual. Hence, alligators receive undue attention relative to other far more common causes of death such as drowning or car accidents.
Since 1948, there have been 275 documented attacks on humans in Florida (that is, about five incidents per year), of which at least 17 resulted in death.
There were only nine fatal attacks in the US throughout the 1970s, '80s, and '90s, but alligators killed 12 people between 2001 and 2007. In May 2006, alligators killed three Floridians in less than a week"
American alligator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia