Wow....Everyone should read this link posted by CaptJohn above. Here is one of the myths debunked there, which I'd never heard before:

Myth #3: Alligators are not good climbers.

Alligators have sharp claws and powerful tails to help them push their bodies up. Young alligators are agile climbers and adults have been known to climb fences to get to water or escape captivity. Low fences, therefore, may not be sufficient protection for pets in areas where alligators are present. Fences should be more than 4.5 feet tall if you are attempting to keep alligators out of your yard.

I think you mean damn gator..

The Sun was waiting on a copy of my report,I sent it to them today.

Yes Bearfoot they eat at night, because of eyesight issues. Gators just see better at night, making no less than 2 round of the area they consider theirs. A gator can lay I wait for hours for it meal to make a mistake. As stated earlier in this post, the pipes in the village are a highway for them. They travel the roads when they are ready to move, just ask the Neighbor Hood Watch how many they see at night.

I have see alligators climb 5 and 6 foot fences.

Why don't you post the "humane" ways that you alligator killers get rid of the alligators such as the harpoons and huge treble hooks? When Villagers hear that an alligator has been "removed" from a pond because of complaints, they often think the alligator is trapped and released into some unoccupied land area. Tell the truth of what really happens.

I guess you can speak for the residents in the Villages, however wrong you are. If calling me an alligator killer was meant to be offensive, well it worked. Not all alligators are destroyed, many are relocated. I don’t have a % of the total per year in the Villages that are killed or relocated. I don’t track that data. I cannot think of anyone in or out of the Villages with a nuisance problem who did not know what the outcome of the gator would be, we always tell them. Eradication of the gators is not our intent, if this was the expectation I would find a different job. As to how the gator is trapped most of the time it a single hook inside bait (beef lung) floating or hanging depending on the terrain. The gator bites it, the hook catches it and it is removed. If you have a different way I’m open to the suggestion. Some people are opposed to removable of alligators, and I respect that. I’m opposed to any killing of Gods creations for no reason. However the ones we remove have posed a threat to humans or domestic animals. You can’t just call in and have a gator removed; you will have to prove the gator is a problem. Sure someone can lie and fabricate a story and the gator would be removed, I would not want to live with that. Now my opinion when I arrive as to the gators being a threat or not has no bearing on it, we all have a reasonable expectation of safety. And we all have a right to make full use of our property without what we perceive as a threat. This post is about a man jumping on an alligator to save his dog, I would not advise anyone to do this. Was he lucky? Sure he was and his dog was lucky. Was it heroic? People will always have mixed opinions on that, I believe Steve is the type of guy who would have done the same thing if it would have been a person. Steve is a kind and loving man, the kind of guy that I proud to call a friend. The man raises butterfly, builds nest for ducks to lay and hatch their eggs secure from threats. Good job Steve, now don’t do it again.

This Post should be in the Sun also. I have read all your responses and found them all to be very informative. Sorry for the killer comment as it was totally uncalled for. The actions of those serving to protect us like firefighters, soldiers, police, EMT's etc. are respected by the vast majority of every day citizens, but then, you can always find someone that will give you a poke just to get a reaction. I doubt if it was meant to be as negative as it looks in print.

I sincerely try my best never to question the actions taken by those doing their job to protect us even if it goes against my way of thinking. Sir I salute you and anyone wearing the uniform of public servants.

:police:

:bigbow:

:BigApplause:

Fatal Alligator Attacks
 

Southeastern Outdoors - Fatal Alligator Attacks


I had posted on another link several times about how naïve we were when we lived in Satellite Beach Florida for one year, in our mid twenties (1970’s)


Totally unprepared to deal with not only alligators lurking in ponds/lakes or for those dangerous ant hills while walking our 2 year old and 5 year old on the paths.


Obviously we made it out alive; only seeing one HUGE GIANT SNAKE removed from the canal on which our rental home was on. Like “Out of Africa” huge.

Ditto for the late 1980’s while vacationing each April on Sanibel Island, Florida which has the Ding Darling Nature Preserve and does have alligators all over the place.......
....a fact that the home owners and condo owners/ business owners make lightly of, so as not to scare away prospective tourists. Great seashells though.

We even subscribed to the local Sanibel paper prior to visiting......which obviously kept it pretty hush hush.

Of course, when checking in, I’d ask about the alligator “thing”. They’d laugh and make lightly of it.........or outright deny it.

There have been quite a few alligator attacks on Sanibel if you click above hyperlink...........including a lady doing landscaping in the backyard.

Most of her arm had to be removed from a massive infection from the alligator bite..........she ultimately died. It happens.

Obviously, many victims of alligator attacks do survive and live to tell about it. The above hyperlink covers some of the fatalities.

Alligators are hunted and removed for a reason. Even the smaller ones can grow in size........I would imagine. Who knows what is lurking beneath??

Through our own lack of knowledge, our two year old and five year old could have been a tasty morsel for an alligator............as we waded into ponds and lakes, unsuspectingly.....as I've written previously.

I believe newspapers should print the truth and the facts.

I’ve heard that the state of Florida really doesn’t want tourists to know about these things...........so as not to discourage tourism.

Those who do know, shouldn't put their heads in the sand.

God forbid. Hopefully, it never happens, but it's smart to be "aware" of potential danger.......I still say that man is a hero.

I can't believe the negative response to his story that was printed in the Orlando Sentinel. I'm sure they checked it out.

How did he get the wounds on his hand and leg as shown in the photos they took? So many doubting Thomases.

Green eyes???
 

Do their eyes shine green at night? The reason for my question is - I used to walk an elderly dog very early in the morning, when it was still quite dark. One morning we walked past one of the areas which abuts a preserve and there was something way ahead of us in the middle of the road, I thought I could make out in the dark that it was sort of longish and low to the ground and with really green shiny eyes. The hair went up on the dog's back and all over my body too and we took off for home. Have often wondered if I really saw something nasty or was it my imagination?

Alligator eyes shine red when a light hits them. Living Among Alligators > About the American Alligator

http://www.ehow.com/how_8070072_reco...yes-night.html

Could have been a feral cat??

Thanks, I try to let thing like that run of my back like water off a duck. I’m a retired firefighter of 35 years and served my country in the Army Eco 3/32 Inf, and my State In the Florida National Guard Dco 2/124 Inf. The point is I have committed my life to public safety, and being called a killer just made the hair on my neck standup. I have worked with 1000s of Village residents and 99% or just downright good people, the 1% may have just been having a bad day. Always said if I see him out and about the Village I going to offer to buy him a beer, and talk to him about what ever. Sorry I let it get to me, should have stayed focused on Steve and what he did to save his dog.

The above links were all very interesting to read and informative....

I just found this on wikipedia......I guess we're pretty safe, somewhat.
Unless we go swimming in the Everglades.

However, that said, the infection from the alligator bite is the thing to be concerned about, especially nowadays ....especially with that flesh eating bacteria from accidents in ponds and lakes in the south.


" Human deaths and injuries
Main article: List of fatal alligator attacks in the United States by decade
Alligators are capable of killing humans, but are generally wary enough not to see them as a potential prey. Mistaken identity leading to an attack is always possible, especially in or near cloudy waters. Alligators are often less aggressive towards humans than large crocodile species, a few of which (mainly the Nile and Saltwater Crocodiles) may prey on humans with some regularity.

Alligator bites are serious injuries due to the reptile's sheer bite force and risk of infection. Even with medical treatment, an alligator bite may still result in a fatal infection.

As human populations increase, and as they build houses in low lying areas, or hunt and fish near water, there are inevitably incidents where alligators threaten, or at least appear to threaten, human life.

Humans tend to exaggerate causes of death that seem unusual. Hence, alligators receive undue attention relative to other far more common causes of death such as drowning or car accidents.

Since 1948, there have been 275 documented attacks on humans in Florida (that is, about five incidents per year), of which at least 17 resulted in death.

There were only nine fatal attacks in the US throughout the 1970s, '80s, and '90s, but alligators killed 12 people between 2001 and 2007. In May 2006, alligators killed three Floridians in less than a week"

American alligator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Madeaine Amee in references to the eyes color Taltarzac725 is correct; the eyes are red when hit by light. Poison snakes eyes will also reflect red. Green can be a lot of wild life even a frog, best to stay alert like you did and avoid any inter action with whatever it is.