oh, You!! :1rotfl:

That's true, women can get "catty". :duck:

listen, this thread can be removed, don't upset urself. gators are EVERYWHERE, there's a few up in our area, we just look & admire & they move on their way. because there are so many, your Brad may be long gone, & by the time somebody sees this post, he's most likely moved on to a whole other location. not for 1 minute do we expect serious forum members here are going to find you& camp out looking for him, lol. just keep it on the lowdown in ur neighborhood, & don't worry!! oxo

Over time, I've learned that there are some myths about alligators. First and foremost, their speed, agility, and aggressiveness. Gators are much more comfortable(and aggressive) in water, which is their natural habitat. On land, they're not very comfortable, as they can only run short distances before tiring. Their main weapon, is to grab their prey(primarily small animals), drag them under water, and drown them. They can't chew, so they let the item rot, then ingest it. I would think cats are too agile and fast, but small dogs, more likely. I've spoken to a few divers(fetching golf balls in retention ponds), and they've all been bitten about a dozen times. No big deal. They just carry a stick and poke them around the eyes. They don't like it, and scurry off. They're very aware of the size of humans, and will not go after larger objects, lest other circumstances(mating season, protecting young, or VERY hungry). And even then, the results are very rarely fatal.

As for Larry, I'm pretty sure he/they get removed when they become too comfortable with human interaction, not merely because they're named, identified, or even watched. It's when they start getting fed, and then learn to cozy up to humans. That's when something bad happens. Alligators will generally run into the water when approached by humans. When they don't, you can pretty much bet they'll get removed.

Just my opinion.

You really need to think about cat lovers that live in TV.

Now that's funny.

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I call him Lucky! I think he is pretty chill. Any time I have seen him with my dog he has jumped in the water.

Their relocated pond to deep fryer

Well if it is a lion or a tiger you can let us all know.

The alligator will do fine.

You people need to learn to SHUT UP about the wildlife here in The Villages, especially the gators. It’s the quickest way to get rid of them by talking about them.....

All the alligators will not be removed because some people inform authorities about what they perceive as a nuisance alligator. Having worked several years for FL FWC (BTW this organization has undergone many name changes in the past so some may know of them by a different acronym) each nuisance case is individually investigated. If you report it to local authorities they are charged to report it to FWC. FWC makes the call.

The alligators are still protected by FL law, just no longer classified as endangered. Mass culling of docile gator populations does not occur. Estimates I have seen has the current FL gator population over 1,000,000. Given that an individual gator is deemed a threat to humans, or specific wildlife, it will be removed or destroyed.

If you feel threatened by a gator, report it. Just do not be surprised if the FWC does not remove that gator if they deem it not a nuisance. They certainly are not going to annihilate the entire gator population of an area for one nuisance gator.

"you people need to learn to shut up ...", really? Not a great way to influence people.

There was a very large gator (7+ feet) by the Loblolly pond behind our house and another, smaller (4-5') one. We've enjoyed watching them sun themselves on the opposite bank and I privately named them Boots (the big one) and Purse. Well, a bit over a week ago, Boots started venturing onto the golf course, to the point several golfers visibly freaked out. A couple of times, he/she positioned itself right across the cart path. Now we haven't seen Boots in about a week and I suspect someone came and dealt with it. We never saw it being overtly aggressive, but it had clearly lost its fear of humans--no good. (Purse is still around and sunning him/herself.)

Excellent points, both about FWC and manners.

People would be surprised how many calls FWC receives about “an alligator in a pond” in The Villages. As you stated, more often than not, the gator remains, as it’s not deemed a threat.