The way I look at this. If you do not like people feeding turtles walk away. If you do not like them throwing some popcorn at gators walk away.I see no problem with this.Like how many gators are in lake sumter anyway. 5-10. Do not think they will harm anyone up on the docks. Never seen one at the Square.People Lighten Up. Ps,If someone told me thats a $500 fine for feeding the gators or turtles, I would say "call a cop"

This might be slightly off topic (and if so, the mods are welcome to remove it), but I just remembered a very significant personal experience that demonstrates exactly why it is a bad idea to feed wild animals.

When I was younger (and for almost 20 years), I worked as a dive guide/dive instructor. My first job in the dive industry was leading groups of divers in the Bahamas. Once a week (every Wednesday) we would do a shark feed dive. Divers would kneel on the bottom with their backs to a coral ledge and watch as a chum ball (frozen fish) was lowered from a skiff. The sharks would come in, feed, put on a great show for the divers, and then leave. We would escort the divers safely back to the boat. I loved this experience and thought it was one of the greatest jobs ever.

We did this feed every week and never had a diver bitten or even threatened. By doing the feed every week the sharks' behavior began to change. They soon (after a couple of months of doing weekly feedings) began associating our boat's engine noise with food and began congregating before we even had the divers or the food in the water. This was still not a problem. The divers loved it and I thought it was an awesome experience. I didn't realize at the time that changing their behavior in this way would have dire consequences.

After a few months of doing the dives, we had to bring the boat from the Bahamas to Miami for our annual maintenance in the shipyard and our Coast Guard inspection. We left the Bahamas for a month.

When we returned and wanted to begin doing our shark feed again, we noticed that our engine noise no longer attracted the dozens of sharks that normally showed up. When we put the divers in the water and dropped the chum, we saw no sharks. They had mysteriously disappeared. We thought that perhaps since they were not being fed regularly maybe they forgot about the feeds. Until we spoke to a local islander and found out that since a group of local fishermen knew that sharks were regularly attracted to our shark feed spot, they thought it would be sporting to go out and catch and kill dozens of sharks in a single afternoon. It was a senseless slaughter and I was devastated. I felt (and rightly so) that I was partly to blame. Afterall, if we didn't draw the sharks to that area regularly, it would not have been possible to annihilate all those sharks in such a short time. I loved watching the sharks, thier sleek, majestic movement through the water will always be etched in my mind. Our divers loved seeing them as well. Now they were gone, and it was mainly due to our changing the sharks' natural behavior.

The company wanted to resume shark feeding off a different island, as the feeds were immensely popular with our guests. I strongly objected. When they resumed the feeds I had to find a different job, because I couldn't stomach being responsible for a replay.


I know that I am probably being overly passionate about urging people to avoid feeding wild animals, but it is something I feel very strongly about. Now ya'll know why. I'll get off my soapbox now. Thanks for listening.

Maybe I'm just not getting your point. I apologize. So, let me get this right. It is OK to break some laws, as long as you get to pick which laws to ignore? It IS against the law to feed gators, but you have decided you don't think this law is important so it is OK for people to ignore it. I guess folks who ignore other laws (like breaking and entering, burglary, assault, etc.) are just following your lead--they are deciding which laws are "OK" to break just like you. Not what I would want to teach my grandchildren (when I am blessed to have some).

Thanks, Cappy, this story is very pertinent. The turtles as well as the gators can easily become conditioned to expect food when they see humans. So often we do things that we think are helpful or enjoyable to animals when in fact, we are only making ourselves feel better. I don't believe any of the creatures that live within TV borders are suffering from food shortages. Nature isn't always pretty, one creature eats another and that's the way it is. Feeding the turtles may seem like fun and I'm sure it is for the little kids who are enjoying seeing the critters eat, but I'm not sure they'd enjoy watching a hungry gator devour one of those turtles.

So often we project our human emotions onto animals...it's not always easy to realize that their diets are so different from ours, their behaviors are many times instinctual and they are not domesticated.

Pick on me if any of you have difficulty with this, but I know what is right and what is wrong when dealing with and living among nature's creatures.

The rationale expressed in the above post could possibly shed some light on why the buffalo needed to be removed from TV. I think the two points under discussion here are respect for wildlife, and teaching grandchildren to obey laws.

It is posts like this one that draw comments that are then called bashing.
I cannot imagine what else......you see no problem with.

I'm sorry that you had to deal with that and I can feel in your words how much this hurt you. Thank you so much for posting this story.

I wasn't trying to make a point one way or the other as to if the poster should or shouldn't anything, I think you understand that. However, after reading this story, I will certainly think twice about feeding ANYTHING other then myself!

Thank you!
:angel:

I think that we've become so removed from nature that we have lost respect for the power of nature. I've witnessed a gentleman jump a fence to walk a small child close to a resting alligator. I've witnessed grandparents lifting little children up to feed a wild buffalo. I've witnessed adults playing golf with lightning flashing all around them. My neighbor went to the ER after being head butted by a buffalo he was petting.:loco:

Heck, I have enough trouble remembering to feed my cat!! I understand what the original poster was saying, it is fun to make memories with the grandkids. I think that this gives every grandparent with a visiting grandchild the opportunity to teach the kids...they will want to feed the animals but by explaining the reasoning the kids will learn and develop a respect for nature...perfect thing to pass on to our kids and something they will remember. Gingin, please don't be offended or feel like you were being attacked...sometimes we get a little over anxious with our answers. Enjoy those grandbabies! (by the way, when I move down there...if anyone wants to send the kids over to feed my cats.....):laugh:

Trappers
 

We also have a condo in So Fla and have had to remove 3 gators in my 15 years living here. It's not pleasant. Certainly not a good thing for children to view. We find that as a big one is removed, a smaller one moves in almost immediately and lives here most of it's life. They don't really bother anyone as long as NO ONE feeds them. When they reach 8' or 8'6" we have to remove them for the safety of our residents and or small children who may be visiting grandparents. We also have turtles and they do just fine if left alone. Possibly they should post signs about feeding the gators as LSL?
Problem solved!

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.