[me4vt]

Originally Posted by Byte1

I would think that even one attack would be too much.

This is their Home not Yours! You invaded their living room they didn’t invade Yours🧐

[GizmoWhiskers]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

*Maybe* it was necessary to remove the one alligator who *might* now see humans as food but it certainly wasn't necessary to remove them all. (Note that they removed alligators from the entire community; there were not four alligators in one pond). The needless removal, and likely destruction, of a native animal behaving naturally is sad. I really hate the idea but maybe it is necessary to put fences around all the ponds to keep the foolish people away.

We enjoy looking for alligators in the ponds here.

Things to learn:
- There are alligators in the fresh water in Florida
- Walking your small dog at the edge of the water is dangerous
- Standing and watching an alligator swim across the pond towards you and your dog is a really bad idea

Just an fyi... alligators can climb fences.

[me4vt]

Originally Posted by Pairadocs

Don't disagree with your comments, however, I think you have to think much deeper and in a more complex way concerning this incident. By that I mean, the emotional responses of human beings. Perhaps a majority of the residents of this community were outraged, in much the same way people (understandably) get outraged over any tragic incident. Sometimes the public PRESSURE overrides "common sense". Recent example might be train derailment in Ohio. "Officials" sometimes give "too much" weight to public pressure and this results in an OVER REACTION. In my opinion that is what happened here. As odd as it seems, sometimes an OVER REACTION, like in this case killing or removing ALL gators, will placate the masses ! ? No, it does not make "sense", but oddly enough it will usually serve to calm the emotions of the angry, frustrated, and fearful people.

They can always move back to New Jersey or New York 🥴

[GizmoWhiskers]

Originally Posted by Byte1

Alligators are of no use in a populated community. They are only good for luggage, boots and cuisine.

Yeah. One day someone on Red Fox or Gray Fox golf courses may be lunch or dinner to one. They are every where out there.

For our non-floridian transplants... those are NOT bullfrogs croaking in the bushes. Alligators sound like bull frogs. They can travel 20 plus miles during mating season. They can eat kids, dogs and adults. They are not cute fur babies.

[spinner1001]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

Spanish Lakes Fairways has removed four alligators from the retention pond where a woman was killed by an alligator earlier this week.

I called The Villages when I first got here and reported an alligator that was in a nearby retention pond. They said that they won't do anything unless it attacks either a person or an animal. So apparently, they get one attack or kill before anyone does anything about them.

Predators are cleared from lake near retirement community after woman savaged to death by reptile | Daily Mail Online

If a major natural predator is removed from an environment, the consequences would be profound and very likely negative because it would certainly upset the ecological balance. We can’t imagine the consequence details but we can imagine that the nearby natural areas would change and likely for the worse. There are plenty of examples where man has killed off animals and negative natural consequences followed.

What Happens When the Top Predator Is Removed From an Ecosystem? | Education - Seattle PI

Does Killing Sharks, Wolves and Other Top Predators Solve Our Conflicts with Them? - Scientific American

Four Pests campaign - Wikipedia


Mass removal of alligators in Florida is not going to happen.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by GizmoWhiskers

Just an fyi... alligators can climb fences.

Notice I wrote that the fences were to keep the foolish people away. People can climb fences too and some will - you can't fix stupid.

The fences would have to be designed to allow the alligators (and other wildlife) to roam and switch ponds when they need/want to.

[Gunny2403]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

Spanish Lakes Fairways has removed four alligators from the retention pond where a woman was killed by an alligator earlier this week.

I called The Villages when I first got here and reported an alligator that was in a nearby retention pond. They said that they won't do anything unless it attacks either a person or an animal. So apparently, they get one attack or kill before anyone does anything about them.

Predators are cleared from lake near retirement community after woman savaged to death by reptile | Daily Mail Online

Just a stupid post.

[Mrfriendly]

Originally Posted by Battlebasset

I have a retention pond behind my house. It was the feature that sold me on my place - open space behind us and water. There is a three foot retention wall with a roughly 3 foot+ vertical bar fence on top of it. So no real worries about a gator getting into my back yard.

All that said - I never put my small dog in the backyard without me there. She could easily squeeze between the lateral bars. And I never go into the pond area. We saw a gator the first month we were here, and we almost see one daily now. It's fun to watch them lay around on the bank, and when the water is low, there is a sandbar near the drainage pipe he/she likes to lay on. It's almost like he is on top of the water. Our guests love it. The most I had in NJ were stupid deer that destroyed my landscaping and made my yard look like cow pasture.

Stay away from the ponds, use common sense, and you won't have a problem.

Battlebasset, I will trade you 150 deer for one alligator 🤫

[Gunny2403]

Maybe.

[Black Beauty]

I've heard there are more dogs in TV than people

[RICH1]

another case of REPTILE-DISFUNCTION in The Villages

[coconutmama]

Originally Posted by Pondboy

Makes me sad to read these posts where people say to kill the gators and use them for luggage and shoes.

The human animal is the most dangerous animal on the planet. I always read about them killing each other vs the alligators. So why don’t we start eliminating them?

Since 1970 they (the human animal) has been responsible for eliminating 60% of the birds, mammals and fish on this planet. Imagine what they think of us?

If you don’t like gators, why did you move to Florida? Was it a secret that they were everywhere? There are in each pond, so if you don’t like that, stay away from the ponds. Simple as that.

Sadly, the human animal feeds the gators, so when they see the human, they come close looking for a free meal.

If you don’t like the other life forms on this planet, move to one without them, such as the moon or Mars.

Totally agree. Love the gators. Remove the people that stupidly feed them & all will be fine

[sloanst]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

Spanish Lakes Fairways has removed four alligators from the retention pond where a woman was killed by an alligator earlier this week.

I called The Villages when I first got here and reported an alligator that was in a nearby retention pond. They said that they won't do anything unless it attacks either a person or an animal. So apparently, they get one attack or kill before anyone does anything about them.

Predators are cleared from lake near retirement community after woman savaged to death by reptile | Daily Mail Online

The Villages will bring in trappers if an alligator is too larger. I don't know how they would measure that, but they have removed gators from Mangrove that were especially huge. Also, if they find that some IDIOT is feeding the alligators, they will remove them.

[joelfmi]

Thanks for transparency. Won't be looking there

[Larchap49]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

Spanish Lakes Fairways has removed four alligators from the retention pond where a woman was killed by an alligator earlier this week.

I called The Villages when I first got here and reported an alligator that was in a nearby retention pond. They said that they won't do anything unless it attacks either a person or an animal. So apparently, they get one attack or kill before anyone does anything about them.

Predators are cleared from lake near retirement community after woman savaged to death by reptile | Daily Mail Online

They were here long before you. I sympathize with her family but walking yourself or a dog next to a pond is an invitation for trouble.