[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

I've been here for almost eleven years. I also lived in Florida for five years back in the eighties. I've never seen an alligator outside of a pond or lying on the edge of a pond. I've heard three stories where one was spotted walking down a street or in someone's back yard. I saw one story where one was on someone's front porch at night.

Alligators are not aggressive unless they are threatened. They eat about once every one to three weeks. They spend most of their lives at the bottom of ponds, lakes and rivers. Generally if you approach and alligator, they will jump into the water.

I've heard of two or three instances in the Villages where one attacked a small dog. Usually it was when the dog owner was walking their pet along the edge of a pond.

Also in the sixteen years that I've lived in Florida, I've seen a few venomous snakes. Mostly water moccasins in a pond on a golf course where I used to work. I occasionally see black racer snakes which are harmless and run away when approached.

In general, alligators and snakes are not a problem. You should be aware of where they are when close to ponds.

We also have pygmy rattle snakes down here. I've never seen one but I make sure that I have a club with me when going into native areas on a golf course.

Last paragraph about "pigmy rattlesnakes", there are normal rattlesnakes throughout Fl. that I have seen pictures of dead ones that when held up by a man 6'4" the snake extends from ground level to above his head. And was about 4 inches in diameter. I once threw a pitchfork at a rattlesnake that was so thick that one of the pitchfork tines penetrated its body and the pitchfork was stuck straight up in the ground.
It wrapped around the pitchfork and its rattlers was singing out very loud. So, I decided NOT to try to finish it, so I went home. Next day, I expected to find it dead.......WRONG.....STILL rattling away. 3 days passed and the same thing. Finally, I got my shotgun and ended the situation. I felt obligated to eat it, so I did. I heard that they tasted good, but mine did NOT - maybe I cooked it wrong.
.......Moral of the story, if a 10 lb rattlesnake can be so tough and hard to KILL, what do you think that a human could do if at night in a swamp they were unarmed and encountered EVEN a 4 ft GATOR? I would place MY bet on the GATOR.
........Gators get hit by an automobile on Highways and crawl away.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Velvet

I work in my yard too, perhaps not as much as you seem to, but I do like gardening. I have found a black snake coiled under a bush I was trimming. And bees or hornets in another bush, and two birds protecting their nest in another bush, the birds were aggressive! So now days I come out with a soapy spray and spray the bush first, everything moves away, and then I trim it. Never saw an alligator in the gardens at Mallory perhaps maybe ones that face the golf course. I wonder if bear spray would work on alligators? I never hear anybody mentioning it.

A lot of my yard work is cleaning up after the shrub trimmers have been on my property. No one does a clean up the way I like it.

I once had a snake spring from a bush and fly right over my head, hit the ground and slithered away. That experience has not deterred me from my yard work. Thank goodness I'm not spooked from that snake.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Velvet

I work in my yard too, perhaps not as much as you seem to, but I do like gardening. I have found a black snake coiled under a bush I was trimming. And bees or hornets in another bush, and two birds protecting their nest in another bush, the birds were aggressive! So now days I come out with a soapy spray and spray the bush first, everything moves away, and then I trim it. Never saw an alligator in the gardens at Mallory perhaps maybe ones that face the golf course. I wonder if bear spray would work on alligators? I never hear anybody mentioning it.

I Googled the effect of bear spray (pepper spray) on alligators. The spray affects mammals ONLY. There is ZERO effect on reptiles and birds.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by coffeebean

A lot of my yard work is cleaning up after the shrub trimmers have been on my property. No one does a clean up the way I like it.

I once had a snake spring from a bush and fly right over my head, hit the ground and slithered away. That experience has not deterred me from my yard work. Thank goodness I'm not spooked from that snake.

Quite an interesting experience.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Last paragraph about "pigmy rattlesnakes", there are normal rattlesnakes throughout Fl. that I have seen pictures of dead ones that when held up by a man 6'4" the snake extends from ground level to above his head. And was about 4 inches in diameter. I once threw a pitchfork at a rattlesnake that was so thick that one of the pitchfork tines penetrated its body and the pitchfork was stuck straight up in the ground.
It wrapped around the pitchfork and its rattlers was singing out very loud. So, I decided NOT to try to finish it, so I went home. Next day, I expected to find it dead.......WRONG.....STILL rattling away. 3 days passed and the same thing. Finally, I got my shotgun and ended the situation. I felt obligated to eat it, so I did. I heard that they tasted good, but mine did NOT - maybe I cooked it wrong.
.......Moral of the story, if a 10 lb rattlesnake can be so tough and hard to KILL, what do you think that a human could do if at night in a swamp they were unarmed and encountered EVEN a 4 ft GATOR? I would place MY bet on the GATOR.
........Gators get hit by an automobile on Highways and crawl away.

Is it true they taste like chicken?

[JSR22]

Originally Posted by joelfmi

Absolutely wild alligators that can move around without being fenced in is to me a major problem and should be addressed before I will purchase a home there.

You will NEVER by a home here, because there is not free transportation. Your constant negative posts make you look foolish.

[RPDaly]

////

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Well, that was just NAMING the PROBLEM.......Gators HERE have grown too BIG.......so that now they can THREATEN dogs and people as we have seen with the 85-year-old lady that experienced the TERROR of a hideous DEATH. I saw the video of her violent DEATH. It was like she was attacked by a Rhino or a ROGUE elephant or a man-eating tiger in INDIA.
.......Does the Villages want to be like a 3rd world country like INDIA or AFRICA?
.......People can still watch gators under 4 ft and enjoy them - and probably more of them if the over 4 footers were "REMOVED". People would LOSE nothing and gain the confidence of NOT being charged by a prehistoric MINDLESS killing MACHINE.
.....Watch the video .......IF you DARE!

Once again, it wasn't HERE... It was OVER 165 miles away...

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Last paragraph about "pigmy rattlesnakes", there are normal rattlesnakes throughout Fl. that I have seen pictures of dead ones that when held up by a man 6'4" the snake extends from ground level to above his head. And was about 4 inches in diameter. I once threw a pitchfork at a rattlesnake that was so thick that one of the pitchfork tines penetrated its body and the pitchfork was stuck straight up in the ground.
It wrapped around the pitchfork and its rattlers was singing out very loud. So, I decided NOT to try to finish it, so I went home. Next day, I expected to find it dead.......WRONG.....STILL rattling away. 3 days passed and the same thing. Finally, I got my shotgun and ended the situation. I felt obligated to eat it, so I did. I heard that they tasted good, but mine did NOT - maybe I cooked it wrong.
.......Moral of the story, if a 10 lb rattlesnake can be so tough and hard to KILL, what do you think that a human could do if at night in a swamp they were unarmed and encountered EVEN a 4 ft GATOR? I would place MY bet on the GATOR.
........Gators get hit by an automobile on Highways and crawl away.

Why are you spending so much time in the swamps?

[JMintzer]

This 'lil guy crosses the same path, back and forth, every day, going from one pond to the other... He doesn't bother anyone and nobody bothers him...

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by RPDaly

Had this one just walk across my path one day. It could have cared less about me and just went on its way. Of course if I had my little mutts with me....

Notice that it is daylight when they are less aggressive. Alligators are basically nocturnal. And they can run 40mph so if it was night and it went for you like the video I saw of the lady that got EATEN recently, then that would have been TOO CLOSE to SAFELY take a picture. DO NOT underestimate the speed and POWER of any Gator over 4ft.

[Retiring]

Originally Posted by FFlank

My wife and I just finished a lifestyle preview visit, and are planning on returning in a few months for a longer stay. I know that gators are a fact of life in TV, but we're not anxious to find one on our doorstep when going out to get the morning paper . When it comes time to pick a home location, is there a part of TV where a close encounter is less likely?

When I took my first trolly tour of TV we had a real interesting gentleman for a tour guide. This was about 5 years ago, before I was old enough to live here (built house last year). The tour guide could not stop talking about the alligators. He was obsessed. Yes, alligators are everywhere, yes they might nap at your doorstep, yes they eat pets and people, keep your distance and lastly he said if living with alligators bothers you, don’t move here. At the end of the tour everyone thanked him. Almost all said they were about to make the mistake of moving to TV. Thankfully, the tour guide convinced them they should look elsewhere. I had spent a year on various TV forums and knew this tour guide was out to lunch. What he said went in one ear and out the other. I should have mentioned something to the higher ups, but the gentleman appeared to be about 100 yrs old and I didn’t want to do anything that might cause him such distress that…

I live a block from a pond. I’ve been told there is an alligator but I have never seen it. If you have pets or small grandchildren that will visit, perhaps you should avoid anything near a retention pond. When I was looking for a building lot, I purposely kept my distance from any water. My fear was/is snakes. I’ve been in TV 18 months now and have yet to see an alligator or snake, I pray it stays that way.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Notice that it is daylight when they are less aggressive. Alligators are basically nocturnal. And they can run 40mph so if it was night and it went for you like the video I saw of the lady that got EATEN recently, then that would have been TOO CLOSE to SAFELY take a picture. DO NOT underestimate the speed and POWER of any Gator over 4ft.

From the google machine:

"Alligators can reach speeds of up to 35 mph on land (though they are known to tire quickly). In the water, an alligator can reach a top speed of 20 mph."

Add to that, they WON'T chase people unless threatened...

Oh, and please tell me how you came up with your 4' limit...

I ask because of these lil' "facts"

"Alligators less than 4 feet in length are not large enough to be dangerous to people or pets, unless handled. You should never handle an alligator, even a small one, because alligator bites can result in serious infection and it's illegal."

"Serious and repeated attacks usually are made by alligators over 8 feet in length and are probably attributed to chase and feeding behavior. Female alligators will defend their nest and young. Alligators quickly become conditioned to people, especially when food is involved.

Some more "facts"...

"Florida alligator bite statistics date back to 1948, ranging around three major bites per year. The chance of someone being attacked is one in 3.2 million. The worst years for fatalities were 2001 and 2006, with three people dying each of those years from Florida alligator attacks. And there have only been 23 fatalities between 1948 and 2016. There have even been stretches during which no fatal attacks by alligators occurred in Florida."

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Retiring

When I took my first trolly tour of TV we had a real interesting gentleman for a tour guide. This was about 5 years ago, before I was old enough to live here (built house last year). The tour guide could not stop talking about the alligators. He was obsessed. Yes, alligators are everywhere, yes they might nap at your doorstep, yes they eat pets and people, keep your distance and lastly he said if living with alligators bothers you, don’t move here. At the end of the tour everyone thanked him. Almost all said they were about to make the mistake of moving to TV. Thankfully, the tour guide convinced them they should look elsewhere. I had spent a year on various TV forums and knew this tour guide was out to lunch. What he said went in one ear and out the other. I should have mentioned something to the higher ups, but the gentleman appeared to be about 100 yrs old and I didn’t want to do anything that might cause him such distress that…

I live a block from a pond. I’ve been told there is an alligator but I have never seen it. If you have pets or small grandchildren that will visit, perhaps you should avoid anything near a retention pond. When I was looking for a building lot, I purposely kept my distance from any water. My fear was/is snakes. I’ve been in TV 18 months now and have yet to see an alligator or snake, I pray it stays that way.

And I think we all know who that tour guide was...

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

From the google machine:

"Alligators can reach speeds of up to 35 mph on land (though they are known to tire quickly). In the water, an alligator can reach a top speed of 20 mph."

Add to that, they WON'T chase people unless threatened...

Oh, and please tell me how you came up with your 4' limit...

I ask because of these lil' "facts"

"Alligators less than 4 feet in length are not large enough to be dangerous to people or pets, unless handled. You should never handle an alligator, even a small one, because alligator bites can result in serious infection and it's illegal."

"Serious and repeated attacks usually are made by alligators over 8 feet in length and are probably attributed to chase and feeding behavior. Female alligators will defend their nest and young. Alligators quickly become conditioned to people, especially when food is involved.

Some more "facts"...

"Florida alligator bite statistics date back to 1948, ranging around three major bites per year. The chance of someone being attacked is one in 3.2 million. The worst years for fatalities were 2001 and 2006, with three people dying each of those years from Florida alligator attacks. And there have only been 23 fatalities between 1948 and 2016. There have even been stretches during which no fatal attacks by alligators occurred in Florida."

What about land sharks?

Candy Gram