While some may consider some of the responses as "bashing," please do realize that many of us are very concerned about injury to those who might be feeding wildlife and harm to the wildlife. It's so easy to forget or maybe not truly realize the power and strength, as well as the SPEED of a gator. Most of us have not lived around these reptiles before and also may not have witnessed their attack behaviors. While the turtles seem to be mild and gentle creatures, when they become accustomed to getting "handouts," their natural foods and the others who are in that particular food chain, are also impacted.

No one wants to see anyone injured or worse because they might not have realized how one interaction with wild animals can cause further impact later on. Gators in the main lake don't always stay in that particular lake...it's almost as if the gators around our community are migratory... ;) ...they go from one lake to another and if ones that have been fed become less fearful of humans, and that human is blissfully ignorant of the power and speed of gators, well, gators are seen on golf courses, one kept running up close to a green we ladies were playing on....a squirrel was taunting the beast and now it's not afraid of man...well, it could be rather nasty.

Please, all, be safe, enjoy nature, but remember for every action there is reaction...sometimes we are aware of the reaction, but many times, not. I don't want to have our gators impacted through no fault of their own...their lives are literally, in our hands.

Thank you for indulging me in this venue for my small rant.

What she said.

And What Pooh said.

and what Cappy Jon said

and what Bogie said

And what Bare said.

All of you respectfully and thoughtfully sharing your life experiences..makes this forum so great.

And on a lighter note...I do NOT want to even think about what would happen if we didn't feed our two cats, Mikey, Harry and Hershey, at five in the morning.:wave:

This is maybe like beating a "dead horse"...I didn't see this thread as "bashing" anyone. Truly I didn't...just maybe educating someone who isn't familiar with the habitat here in FL.

Up north we had another such example, though the wildlife probably wouldn't kill anyone. We lived near lakes (this was maybe 25 or 30 years ago) and once in awhile we'd have ducks that would be swimming..not many but a few. It was a novel thing for folks to feed them bread crumbs and so cute when they also had their babies. Fast forward to the past 10 years or so...NOW there are flocks and flocks of these and other wild water-fowl. They congregate in parks, yards and more. They leave ALOT of their "residue" and that's stinky and profuse. If you live in one of these--you KNOW all too much how much damage they'll do to your yard! Sometimes they also congregate in farm fields and that too is a bad deal--they feed on the seeds planted or wreck the crops. There are now businesses (folks with dogs) to chase (humanly) these birds away. Does it work? Sometimes but mostly not as they're tenacious because there will "STILL" be those who want to feed them breadcrumbs etc. because they think they're doing them a favor...and it's fun to take the grandkids along sometimes to do it. I don't mean to bash anyone..just to say that God created these animals and will provide for them. Living here, they (all the wild-life) have enough to keep them full. Just my 2-cents worth.

I have a confession to make.:sing: First I want to say sorry for feeding the wild life:doh:. Forty years ago I was a tour guide at Palm Coast, Fl. We had a pond outside our office, Sam the gator hung out and I would feed him or her leftover hotdogs:loco:. I squealed with laughter every time I threw a dog. That gator and I had a thang going on.:girlneener:

I know it was wrong, I've made my confession, I currently do not feed the wild life, but I must admit the memory of Sam eating my dogs brings a smile to my face.:wave:

Hope you all will forgive me for my sins.:loco:

I hope those of you that are agahst at feeding wild fish and turtles aren't the ones with bird feeders, hummingbird feeders, and bird baths and maybe even put up bird houses. It seems to me those things also affect the ways of "wild" birds and whatever other animal you are feeding in your back yard.
Just saying, its in the eye of the beholder.

JHooman.... the first time I skimmed your post I missed the "hot" in front of dogs...then saw the subsequent references to dogs and thought ..oh, no....that'll spur some strong replies. Glad I re-read it and see you were tossing Gator Sam some hot dogs and not pooches. Whew.

I think the statute of limitations has passed (as perhaps has gator Sam from all those nitrates)...so, you are forgiven.

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.

I'm not a big fan of bird feeders either. My mom used to have many birdfeeders in our back yard. She loved watching the beautiful bluejays, cardinals, and other birds flock to our backyard--until the neighborhood cats realized that hanging out by the bird feeders was an easy way to get a quick meal. Kinda like a McDonalds for cats. Once my mother realized she was responsible for the needless deaths of many of the birds she enjoyed watching, she stopped feeding the birds. I'm sure they found plenty of food on their own.

No feeders or anything else you mentioned in my yard....I have plenty of plants that attract creatures...and besides, those d***d squirrels would think the feed was just for them. I don't need any more squirrels, thank you very much.....;)

Thanks for all the answers...both positive and negative as they have given me pause to think. I thought that taking grandkids to feed the turtles was going to be one of the traditions we could do as we start our new life in TV. I had heard it talked about so much by others and now it has become a special treat for the younger grandkids. I know they'll outgrow it in a few years but we will always remember our evening walks along the lake after dinner when we fed the turtles (trying NOT to feed the alligator).

Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you very much......:angel::angel::angel: