Originally Posted by Sandy and Ed (Post 2311215)

Since The Villages is a private community and all ponds , etc are owned by The Villages why is there any issue with eradicating the problem here?? IMHO safety of the humans and DOMESTIC animals living here should be top priority. Not the survival of a cold blooded amphibian creature that attacks when not provoked. Blaming the victim as not having enough sense to be constantly on guard for being attacked while enjoying what should be a relatively safe environment????

Originally Posted by Sandy and Ed (Post 2311215)

Since The Villages is a private community and all ponds , etc are owned by The Villages why is there any issue with eradicating the problem here?? IMHO safety of the humans and DOMESTIC animals living here should be top priority. Not the survival of a cold blooded amphibian creature that attacks when not provoked. Blaming the victim as not having enough sense to be constantly on guard for being attacked while enjoying what should be a relatively safe environment????

Originally Posted by PugMom (Post 2310808)

i feel for this guy, really, but who in their right mind fishes on the edge of a pond in Fl>? i would expect exactly that. poor gator was in his home, doing what gators do:shrug:

Originally Posted by defrey12 (Post 2311224)

You’re really not listening, are you? If you’re near a pond, with or without “Fluffy”, you’re essentially provoking them. They feed along the water’s edge.

Originally Posted by Sandy and Ed (Post 2311229)

Bottom line: Establishments, organizations and, yes, governments (etc) that cater to the masses (which include children or other at-risk folks) should do all they can to insure the environment is safe. That includes safe from bombs, fire, disease, crime, alien attacks, wild predatory animals, zombies, etc. Why do we keep putting the responsibility on to each person instead? “They should know better,etc”. “They” pay, vote for and expect the people at the top to insure safety.

Originally Posted by Two Bills (Post 2311226)

Build a wall around TV?
Netting overhead to guard against flying predators?
Shoot all predatory wild life within TV?
Incidents of gator or any wildlife attack is probably the lowest cause of death and injury of all incidents within TV.
You are more likely to be attacked by someone's pet than roaming wild animals.
TV is a safe an environment as any, and safer than most, but the minimal wildlife danger can be mitigated with basic common sense, not some knee-jerk reaction to something that happened elsewhere.

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 2311233)

OK, I get it. Another proponent of the Orwellian nightmare. Yes, "the government" will keep us safe. There was no significant crime in Oceania. The only individual responsibility was unquestioning loyalty and obedience to the state. No thanks, I'll take my chances with the gators (and especially the zombies:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::)

Originally Posted by Sandy and Ed (Post 2311235)

Again, another over the top black or white comment. No don’t kill all wild creatures on the planet or in The Villages. Leave the birds in the air. Let the snakes exist. Even those annual love bugs. Let’s just get rid of the alligators from our over 55 retirement community. OK. Mike drop!!!

Originally Posted by Sandy and Ed (Post 2311229)

Bottom line: Establishments, organizations and, yes, governments (etc) that cater to the masses (which include children or other at-risk folks) should do all they can to insure the environment is safe. That includes safe from bombs, fire, disease, crime, alien attacks, wild predatory animals, zombies, etc. Why do we keep putting the responsibility on to each person instead? “They should know better,etc”. “They” pay, vote for and expect the people at the top to insure safety.

Originally Posted by Sandy and Ed (Post 2311222)

Let’s not go overboard here! No don’t kill every alligator in the world to the point of extinction. Let’s get some gray area in here. Not black and white. Let’s just prevent alligators from inhabiting an over 55 retirement community where most folks averaging in their mid 69’s would like to relax and enjoy the idyllic lifestyle advertised and for which they pay without worrying about being eaten by a cold blooded predatory creature or having their companion domesticated pets eaten. Now doesn’t that sound more tempered?

Originally Posted by Sandy and Ed (Post 2311222)

Let’s not go overboard here! No don’t kill every alligator in the world to the point of extinction. Let’s get some gray area in here. Not black and white. Let’s just prevent alligators from inhabiting an over 55 retirement community where most folks averaging in their mid 69’s would like to relax and enjoy the idyllic lifestyle advertised and for which they pay without worrying about being eaten by a cold blooded predatory creature or having their companion domesticated pets eaten. Now doesn’t that sound more tempered?

Originally Posted by Desiderata (Post 2311257)

More tempered, yes, but still unrealistic and unnecessary. How many gator attacks have you ever heard of in The Villages?

Originally Posted by Gunny2403 (Post 2311266)

I routinely watch golfers walk past the RED stakes to a pond ( behind my house ), take out a ball retriever and churn the water trying to get a golf ball. I usually yell and tell them the pond has a gator in it. They say thanks and keep doing it. Humans are not very smart when it comes to this.