Alligators
 

I have my mother-in-law visiting later this month and I know she'd really like to see an alligator in the wild

Have any been spotted recently from a public golf cart path?

Thank you

Gator
 

There was one in the Pond by the Miona Rec Center suning himself on the sand mound. Should warm up by mid week. He was there about 3:30 when I saw him. About a 6-7' gator.

There was a crowd of people looking at one yesterday in the pond on Buena Vista off the path just south of Palmers. Should still be there!

Alligators
 

Thank you for the leads

There is an alligator in the pond at the end of Barcelona Drive, but is not that easy to see. Just swims around with hardly anything showing except his head.

Where is Barcelona Drive?

Hacienda East near the North gate of Morris.

The one in the pond on the Buena Vista trail just south of Palmer CC is probably the one that is spotted with the most regularity. Also he is a big one 10 - 12 footer....gn

I've seen the big gator many times (south of Palmer CC). He is pretty reliable to be sunning himself when it is hot out. (There is usually a line-up of golf carts on the Buena Vista Trail; people stopping to take pictures). There is also a smaller gator in the same pond.

Be careful that the smaller gator doesn't nip your toes while you're taking pictures of the big one. :eek:

Thanks, Barefoot - I'll make sure the mother-in-law is standing between me and the gators...

There is one in a pond on Bailey's Trail near Cane Gardens. I call him Alley.

Alligator update
 

just looking for an update on recent alligator sightings

my mother-in-law has been here 48 hours, but has had a traumatic time of it so far:

- four hours getting through Immigration with threats of immediate deportation (she was given two "visa waiver" numbers and they expected her to explain why, when it was them that had given them to her!)

- seven hours waiting to be seen at ER last night (8 pm to 3 am) for a condition probably exacerbated by her Immigration experience - she is 83

Anyway, once she feels able to head out in the golf cart, I should like to show her an alligator if possible without having her travel too far from where I live in De La Vista

Any sightings in the last day or two?

Thank you

It is 4:08 Friday afternoon and my husband just came thru "the cut in the fence" at the end of Barcelona Dr. The alligator is there in the pond and visible now.

Gator
 

Seeing a gator in a pond at TV is not seeing a gator in the wild.

Take her for an airboat ride. They'll show you gators in the wild.

Gators
 

Gentle airboat rides can be agganged.

Sighting
 

It is 3:40 Monday afternoon and the alligator is in "full view" in the pond at the end of Barcelona Dr. (In Hacienda East, near SS)

The one on Bailey heading toward Lake Miona rec center was there throughout today. I was fishing there a few days ago and I thought a big fish hit my lure a few seconds later a nose and two eyeballs appeared behind the lure. Needless to say that ended my day and I ran over to the pond a little further up the road.

Watch Out!!!
 

Please folks, be extremely cautious around these wild animals. When I lived in south Florida there was a story about a female landscaper who was working a few feet from a pond when an alligator burst out of the water and snatched her. They do stalk their prey. Several other landscapers tried to pull her back out of the alligators mouth and eventually they did so but she died of massive infections from the wounds. Alligators can be incredibly fast and sprint short distances so watch from afar. :ohdear::ohdear:

Gators
 

I finally spotted the Palmer ten-footer today :-)

He tried to trick me by coming out on a cloudy morning, rather than a sunny afternoon, but the leads provided by you TOTVers proved more than a match for him.

Now, if he'll just stay put for another two weeks until my brother comes to visit...

How did your mother enjoy her visit? So sorry she went through so much trauma on her last visit. Did she ever see an alligator?

She had a lovely first visit, thanks (it was my wife's mother who had all of the problems) and threatens to come back again :-)

We held a "Meet the Mum" party on her second evening for 24 of my neighbors, so she was later able to wave to them as we shot past in the cart, or chat to them at the local pool.

Trouble is, we now have to hold a "Meet the Bro" party...

She didn't see any alligators, but the local bobcat stalked past, and she enjoyed watching all of the birds in the preserve

There's a small one on Stillwater Trail across from caroline mail station.He sits on the drainage pipe or sometimes he's in the water!

Alligators
 

The Riley Grove pond alligator, Freddy, is usually out sunning where he can be seen from the cart path. We saw him on Sunday afternoon.

gator spotting
 

The Barcelona Gator was cruising slowly round his pond yesterday evening - and the ducks were all on the banks glaring at him :-)

You guys ever seen "Swamp People" and watch them catch gators? Interesting as it's a big ole strong fishing hook.
Guess you can't fish for gators in the Villages?

Take a look at Lake Miona at all the boats dragging people around on the end of a rope. Trolling for gators ??

Alligator sightings
 

I am afraid of alligators but only four kinds ,big ones and little ones, alive ones and dead ones.:BigApplause: One of my nighbors e-mailed us pictures of the incident in southern Florida where the golfer went to retrieve his ball and lost an arm to an alligator trying to do so. I will spare you all the details but they did show how they managed to retrieve the guy's arm from the now dead alligator. He titled the piece "How Much Is a Golf Ball Worth?":22yikes:

I found a very graphic hoax-related site on the web with a simple google search.

The arm was retrieved, but it wasn't a golfer's. It was a snorkeler's.

Yes, the gator on Barcelona is visible after going into hiding for a while. It is funny to see all the ducks or whatever, all standing on the shore and each and every one of them looking at the same spot in the water. No need to look for the gator, the ducks find it for you.

Alligator
 

Well thank you for that info Tony. I am going to have to speak with my neighbor. He is coming over nerxt week for a poker game HMMMM now I can I get the most mileage out of this one? For sure I am going to wait before we have the second beer. By the way do I have to submit a 1099 for the $6.00 I won last time we played? I suspect the snorkeler was retrieving balls for the golf course? My brother is a scuba diver who has traveled the world wide in places to dive and ran into some divers pulling balls from ponds on Havanna He was seeing if he could join their team. I reminded him that alligators are smarter than sharks and less discriminating::D

Wait! Wait. Don't bet the ranch. I read too fast.

The web site said, "In 2009 a Beaufort, South Carolina, golfer really did lose part of an arm to an alligator while attempting to recover his ball."

The site showed photos of the snorkeler incident.

Don't look at this if you don't want to see dismemberment.

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/alligator-takes-golfer-arm.shtml


I hope you haven't bet yet.

The site had photos of another incident that was the snorkeler.

I would like to tell you the site was confusing, but I can't. I was the one who was confused.

Alligator
 

Yep Tony that is the story my neighbor sent me. Hmmm still need to find a way to nudge him a bit. Thank you.

Yea, I saw him too and he was wearing a green sweater with a little insignia of a golfer on it. :22yikes:

Ed, what are you doing in The Villages??:police:

Gators
 

I have seen as many as three gators in the water off the pier or docks at Lake Sumter Landing...I see them early in the AM when I am walking around 8:30AM...They seem to be sizing me up for breakfast as I walk by...smiles

Just riding around on the roads that my real estate taxes maintain. :police::police:

I have a Canadian visitor; and she wants to see ... of course ... a Gator.

I'm planning to visit the Palmers golf course gator because he is pretty reliable. However if he lets me down, are there are recent sightings in the south/west area of The Bubble? I live south of 466 and would like to do a Gator Golf Cart Tour.

He was probably enjoying the friendly folks.


.

No thanks on viewing the dismemberment. Thanks for the warning, Tony.

The Palmer Gator is very reliable. He was out today strutting his stuff. Many people in golf carts were enjoying him. And there are still birds and turtles swimming blissfully around in the Gator's pond. :confused: