[The Great Fumar]

Nothing this summer but last summer I saw about a three foot black racer snake at the 7th tee on amberwood golf course , as for alligators , the villages watches their size and when they reach 6 feet they remove them and take them to silver springs where they put them in a gator park.....I saw two last summer , I thought it was three but she said she wasn't and I took her word for it.............

[Happy Villager]

My husband and I ride our bicycles over the bridge on Morris Blvd to Sumter Landing and have spotted alligators in the water there at least four times. We have also seen gators near Palmer on Buena Vista. The only one we saw on land was on the Bacall Golf Course and it was just laying there sunning itself. We kept a good distance away from it.

As for snakes we have only seen one and that was also on the Morris Blvd bridge. It was being captured by a worker who told us it was poisonous. My neighbor across the street told us yesterday a worker she hired to trim her trees reported seeing a 3-4 ft black snake in her bottle brush bushes. Now I'm afraid to take my dog out in the yard in the dark!

[zcaveman]

I went to take my dog for his afternoon walk the other day and there was a baby black race (pencil thin and about a foot long) in front of the door. By the time I got Bart back and got out of the door it was skimming across the rocks and I lost him in the bushes. Haven't seen him since.

Always take a shovel or a rake and rustle your bushes before you go weeding or trimming.

[marygalexa]

my 44 year old son-in -law born and raised in Florida says that if there is a lake in Florida, odds are there is a gator. We saw one on the east sime of the bridge going over Lake Sumter. Mating season is May and November. Should have some activity coming up soon. Lake down around Leesburg where we went to a Bible Study a couple years ago was full of them. It Looked like a logging camp in the early morning there were so many of them.

[tonycirocco]

Been in FL for 40 yrs, Gaters are EVERYWHERE.

They especially like dogs, so don't let your pet wander too close to water, unless you wamt to lose them.

Tony :dontknow:

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by tonycirocco

Been in FL for 40 yrs, Gaters are EVERYWHERE.
They especially like dogs, so don't let your pet wander too close to water, unless you wamt to lose them.
Tony :dontknow:

Tony, Gater question, do they ever stay on dry areas for a period of time or do they always stay close to water? We have a Villa that backs on a Rough and then a golf course (no water in sight) and there is a 3 foot fence. We have two dogs. One is 10 lbs, a tasty snack. Could there potentially be gaters lurking in the Rough?

Sign me
Gater Hater

[BETHPAGE BLACK]

Barefort..one thing you should know is that alligators travel through the irrigation system under the golf course. Have a house up by Duval Pool and a gator came up onto someones lawn right behind the pool last spring. Sent everyone scrambling and the sherriff came down. Watch your dog. I am not there as not retired yet so my dog never comes down with me when I vacation down there in my home. When I do..my dog will never be out alone...He is a real nice "lamb chop"...

[pgilson]

3 gator sightings in TV in 6 winters.
One little guy (maybe 1 1/2 ft) in the creek by the church on the corner of 466 and Morse Blvd.
Another larger one, maybe 4 ft. living in the pond just southeast of the same corner. I saw this one many times last winter, sunning himself.
A large one, maybe 6ft. in the front yard of a house on the south side of San Marino, near the intersection of Durango. We drove by on our golf cart and thought it was a new lawn ornament. We turned around to get a closer look, and it stood up and walked between the houses back to the wetlands behind the houses. I would not walk my dog in that area. He was a scary one!

[nanci2539]

Didn't I read once that a gator attacked and killed a woman in her back yard. I know it was in FLA but not in TV. Do gators usually mind their own business or will the attack without provocation?

[bestmickey]

Nanci....I think it depends on how hungry they are.

Originally Posted by bestmickey

Nanci....I think it depends on how hungry they are.

These alligator attacks seem relatively rare. 17 deaths due to alligator attacks in Florida since 1948? http://www.statemaster.com/graph/hea...igator-attacks

Not too many really hungry gators in FL since 1948. They do have plenty of pickings now. :joke:

[trippin]

I've lived in TV for about one year. About six mos ago, while playing golf at Turtle Mound I saw 2 gators, each 3 to 4 ft. long in a water hazzard.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac

These alligator attacks seem relatively rare. 17 deaths due to alligator attacks in Florida since 1948? http://www.statemaster.com/graph/hea...igator-attacks

Not too many really hungry gators in FL since 1948. They do have plenty of pickings now. :joke:

Hmmmm .. Interesting statistic .. Only 17 deaths due to alligator attacks in Florida in past 60 years. I think I read there were 3 in Florida in 2006 alone. Perhaps it is like shark attacks in the Carribean, they don't publicize them, it may scare off the tourists.

Guess when they track deaths, they mean humans. I wouldn't even want to guess how many kitty/doggie snacks have been consumed by Gaters.

In general I am an huge animal lover, but sorry, I think the only good gater is in a wallet.

Gater Hater

[GERALDINE]

Personally, being absolutely petrified of snakes...I too asked this question before moving down here 2 years ago. I was told..."there is a saying in Florida...if there is water...there are snakes and gators..." Unfortunately, I have found that to be true. Have personally seen more than 5 gators...some small, some large...and can't even count the number of snakes I've seen, especially over by Sunset Pointe on St. Charles by the pond. These snakes are so BIG, however...they don't even phase me. They are HUGE!! I'm serious!!! I would no more live on or near a "pond", or any body of water, down here than I'd jump off a bridge!!! These critters ARE here and they do come up into neighboring yards and garages if you leave your door open. My daughter had one get IN her van!!! YUK!!!

[PJ]

That's right JKP, there are plenty of snakes here! I've seen 5 black snakes, and there is a huge black snake living behind my vinyl siding, inside the wall between my garage and my front door! I didn't know this until recently, when a contractor working at my house told me he saw it going up behind my siding. I had been hearing some rustling noises there for quite some time, as I've done a lot of gardening there. Yikes!