[CFrance]

Originally Posted by zmarkp

That is TERRIBLE advice, Yung Dum!

The one I boxed sued me. He was a litigator.

While I was in court his cousin nipped me from behind. He was a tailgator.

The bite got infected and now I have gatoraids.

I don't think you're human, Yung Dum. You're nothing but an instigator!

Superb.

[Rapscallion St Croix]

A little one ran out onto the cart path in front of us causing me to literally lock the brakes and skid to a stop. He was coming from the golf course and had intentions of crossing 466. I didn't want him to get run over so I herded him back onto the golf course. He was only about two and a half feet long. Several days later, I noticed an unidentifiable road kill near that spot on 466. It was about two and a half feet long.

[JerryLBell]

It's generally thought that any body of water in alligator territory (which includes ALL of Florida) large enough to physically fit an alligator will at some point in time have an alligator in it. You DO see them in The Villages... and everywhere outside of The Villages, too!

People who grew up here (which I was not fortunate enough to do) say that gators generally feed at dusk or dawn and only have to feed once a week or so. If you see them laying up on the grass outside of a body of water, they are normally just storing up solar energy to allow them to digest. They are NOT trying to feed then. To feed, they generally stay in the water and grab things that are either already in the water or at water's edge. Alligators can be quite fast, but not for long. If you stay at least 20 feet or more from them, they will usually not even try to go for you, figuring that you'll leap away and get away from them while they use up their short burst of speed. Of course, if you let your pet run free or on a long leash and they like to stay down at the edge of the water and bark at that funny looking log, they might easily end up as a gator snack.

Some people are proud of the fact that they call animal control whenever they see an alligator in ponds behind their houses. These gators are caught and killed; they are NOT resettled in some distant swamp or gator sanctuary. To me, that's just a crying shame. They really don't bother us and they were here first. Alligators are wonderfully adapted survivors based on millions of years of evolution and yet we might be the death of them. Watch and enjoy them instead. It's really thrilling to watch one arch his head and tail up and bellow in the water to attract a mate; you'll see the water "dance" all along their backs. Just never, EVER feed them! They will associate humans with food and overcome their leeriness of humans and start to follow us. They they have to be caught and killed. As they say, "A fed alligator is a dead alligator."

I've tried gator meat with very mixed success. I had it in Texas once with some wonderful sauce and it was very tasty. Almost every other time, I must have gotten the bad cuts of meat as it so gristly that it was like chewing on knuckles. Your mileage may vary.

If you want to see some HUGE alligators, go to Gator World near The Villages (you can even hold a small one!) or Gator Land down in Orlando. Busch Gardens has some big ones as well.

By the way, alligators aren't the only wildlife in The Villages. People (not me, but I'm still looking) have seen Florida panthers, bobcat, coyote and otters. My wife and I have seen raccoons, armadillos, turtles and a large variety of great birds. There are some great spots like the Rose Weichens Preserve and the walking trails down in Fenney plus tons of parks, wildlife preserves, landfills and other great places outside The Villages to see wildlife. There are also any number of groups who enjoy going to see them, such as The Village Birders for birding. <full disclosure: I am a proud member of The Village Birders and also The Brownwood Birders>

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by JerryLBell

It's generally thought that any body of water in alligator territory (which includes ALL of Florida) large enough to physically fit an alligator will at some point in time have an alligator in it. You DO see them in The Villages... and everywhere outside of The Villages, too!

People who grew up here (which I was not fortunate enough to do) say that gators generally feed at dusk or dawn and only have to feed once a week or so. If you see them laying up on the grass outside of a body of water, they are normally just storing up solar energy to allow them to digest. They are NOT trying to feed then. To feed, they generally stay in the water and grab things that are either already in the water or at water's edge. Alligators can be quite fast, but not for long. If you stay at least 20 feet or more from them, they will usually not even try to go for you, figuring that you'll leap away and get away from them while they use up their short burst of speed. Of course, if you let your pet run free or on a long leash and they like to stay down at the edge of the water and bark at that funny looking log, they might easily end up as a gator snack.

Some people are proud of the fact that they call animal control whenever they see an alligator in ponds behind their houses. These gators are caught and killed; they are NOT resettled in some distant swamp or gator sanctuary. To me, that's just a crying shame. They really don't bother us and they were here first. Alligators are wonderfully adapted survivors based on millions of years of evolution and yet we might be the death of them. Watch and enjoy them instead. It's really thrilling to watch one arch his head and tail up and bellow in the water to attract a mate; you'll see the water "dance" all along their backs. Just never, EVER feed them! They will associate humans with food and overcome their leeriness of humans and start to follow us. They they have to be caught and killed. As they say, "A fed alligator is a dead alligator."

I've tried gator meat with very mixed success. I had it in Texas once with some wonderful sauce and it was very tasty. Almost every other time, I must have gotten the bad cuts of meat as it so gristly that it was like chewing on knuckles. Your mileage may vary.

If you want to see some HUGE alligators, go to Gator World near The Villages (you can even hold a small one!) or Gator Land down in Orlando. Busch Gardens has some big ones as well.

By the way, alligators aren't the only wildlife in The Villages. People (not me, but I'm still looking) have seen Florida panthers, bobcat, coyote and otters. My wife and I have seen raccoons, armadillos, turtles and a large variety of great birds. There are some great spots like the Rose Weichens Preserve and the walking trails down in Fenney plus tons of parks, wildlife preserves, landfills and other great places outside The Villages to see wildlife. There are also any number of groups who enjoy going to see them, such as The Village Birders for birding. <full disclosure: I am a proud member of The Village Birders and also The Brownwood Birders>

Good stuff. Thanks.

[Taltarzac725]

American crocodile removed from Lake Tarpon - YouTube

Hope you never see one of these in these parts.

[jerseyjoy]

We live in Sanibel, not near water. Nearest golf course is about a half mile away. This past summer my neighbor found one on our property line. Was a "young" one, at 5 feet (ugh). Trapper came and got him about 6 hours later, but we thought we didn't have to worry about them because of our location. Go figure.

[aninjamom]

I've lived in Florida for a long time, but the only close encounter I've had was down in the Winter Garden area. I was driving into Winter Garden on a back road and was startled to see a small gator - about 3 -4 ft long- right in the center of the road. I stopped, and fortunately he turned around and went back into the bushes. He'd been heading for the new McDonald's across the street, maybe to check out the fast food?

It's not a good idea to try to retrieve golf balls from the water around here.

You can try out gator at a couple of the local restaurants if curious. I prefer cow.

[kcrazorbackfan]

I was standing on the tee box of #6 Egret last year waiting to hit and looked to my left and there was a gator that was as big as Larry the Gator at Brownwood about 20’ away. I started easing back and I guess the gator finally saw me and “flew” back into the marsh area.

My wife was playing Laurel Manor earlier this year with some of her friends and was on the par 5 2nd hole; there was a gator on the opposite side of the pond (#9 tee box side) and one of her friends went down to the edge of the pond to snap a pic. I guess the gator didn’t like that and jumped into the water and headed toward her.

This little guy was at LSL

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by fw102807

This little guy was at LSL

Cool soft shell turtle picture too.

[MorTech]

A few months ago I was out for a stroll at about 3:00 AM on my cart. I saw a rather large gator laying in the grass next to the cart path. Being the jerk that I am, I proceeded to drive right toward it's face.....Gator didn't like that one bit and turned and ran. Those gators are QUICK for being such lethargic sociopaths.

[JohnN]

There are gators everywhere in Florida. I don't swim in the water here, nor take my dog very close. I'm in St.James and they picked up a pretty good sized gator (7 feet if I recall) right on the corner of Buena Vista and St.Charles on the golf cart path by the St.James gate. I've seen them in the water at Sumter Landing and at the big pond on 466 and Morse. Gators are quite fast and stealthy, be careful.

Originally Posted by Nucky

We saw Larry the Gator on the Trolley ride somewhere around Brownwood. The only other one we spotted was in the pond on the right when you are coming over the Golf Cart Bridge from The Historic Section. It was thrilling but by the time I fumbled with the camera in the Cell Phone, it was gone.

I understand your question but it is a Non Issue really once you live here other than using common sense. I can't tell you how much it bothers me to see an adult fishing near a pond with little kids standing on the bank of the pond. But just like Golf Carts and other issues if the kids aren't mine then mum's the word!

Just move here and don't worry about the BIG SNAKES!

I would never order Gator Bites. I tried someone else's and didn't care for them.

Larry is quite a celebrity and even has his own FB page

Larry the Alligator - Home | Facebook

[collie1228]

When I moved here six years ago gator sightings were common, even frequent. In fact, in our golf group we would joke that only the new guys would comment on seeing a gator in the pond. Now, even though I play three times a week year round, I might see a gator just a few times a year, and it's usually a very small one. My guess is that they are being removed. I've eaten gator once, at a restaurant, and can best describe the taste as chicken with a fishy background. Not really pleasant, and kind of tough too. The most common gator in The Villages is the tail-gator, and you can see them every day on Morse Blvd., north of 466. I wish there was a way to have them removed too.

[ColdNoMore]

Originally Posted by collie1228

When I moved here six years ago gator sightings were common, even frequent. In fact, in our golf group we would joke that only the new guys would comment on seeing a gator in the pond. Now, even though I play three times a week year round, I might see a gator just a few times a year, and it's usually a very small one. My guess is that they are being removed. I've eaten gator once, at a restaurant, and can best describe the taste as chicken with a fishy background. Not really pleasant, and kind of tough too. The most common gator in The Villages is the tail-gator, and you can see them every day on Morse Blvd., north of 466. I wish there was a way to have them removed too.