Gator in the garden? Here is what experts say you should do.
South Florida residents have to co-exist with nature, especially as the suburbs spread farther west of Interstate 75. Experts say residents need to know what to do and, more importantly, what to avoid, if they see an alligator. With spring and summer approaching, and breeding season starting at the end of the month, alligators are going to be more active and likely to be sighted by residents.
OK, so let’s say you’re SO ready for summer. You’ve cleaned the pool, you’ve got the margarita machine running at full blast, and the grill is just about ready for those two-inch thick slabs of dead cow you’ve been drooling over. Now if you could just get that damn gator out of the pool, you might just have a party on your hands. Damn gators….
Rumor has it that the lake in our backyard is home to a gator or two, though we’ve never seen one. Gators sightings ‘round these parts aren’t uncommon occurences, but they don’t happen very often. I’ve seen them on a few golf courses, and they generally don’t mind it when you play through. It’s sort of a live and let-live unspoken agreement. Of course, here in southeast Texas, people aren’t building into alligator habitat in the same manner as south Florida. So, what’s a guy to do when a gator has laid claim to your swimming pool?
“Just seeing an alligator does not make it dangerous,” said Willie Puz, media relations director for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. “They have to come out of the water, as a cold-blooded reptile, to regulate their temperature by basking in the sun. That is what alligators do.”
Problems start when people feed them. “They associate people with a handout,” Puz said.
If you see an alligator more than 4 feet long that poses a threat to humans or property, call 1-866-392-4286, a statewide, toll-free number launched by the conservation commission last April. Dispatchers will answer questions or possibly send a licensed trapper to catch the gator.
Since coming online in April, the nuisance alligator hotline has received 17,148 calls. The agency removes more than 5,000 nuisance gators each year, most of which are killed and sold for meat and other parts.
BTW, for those of you unfortunate enough to live north of the Mason-Dixon Line, alligator meat is quite tasty (…and it tastes just like chicken!!).
Blair Hayman, a biologist who works for the statewide nuisance alligator program, said dogs are especially at risk for alligator attacks.
“Most bodies of water have alligators or will have them; people should really expect them at some point,” Hayman said. “If they do have pets, and you want your dog to be outside, a fence is a good idea.”
She urges people to make sure the bottoms of their fences are buried because alligators can crawl underneath or push through, and they can see a family pet through a chain-link fence….
“Gators don’t know dogs. They see a small- to medium-sized furry mammal that looks tasty and it brings their radar,” said Todd Hardwick, a licensed trapper who owns the Miami-based Pesky Critters, a wildlife nuisance control company.
Small children are also at risk if they play near water, he said. A dog could entice an alligator.
Of course, if you have some particularly annoying children in your neighborhood (and I can think of a couple off the top of my head), you could be forgiven for thinking “gator bait”. Then again, this is a sure-fire way to make certain that those annoying kids never bother you again- ever.
“Dogs can draw a gator over, and if there is a small child it’s extremely dangerous,” he said. The alligator could confuse the child for the dog.
You know, I always knew that dog would come in handy….
