Found Deceased FL - Lane Graves, 2, Walt Disney World, 14 June 2016 #1

[sonjay]

I hear ya! Same here. As a kid we swam anywhere the water was. Which most of the time was a lake behind a house, or floating down a river in a raft.

As an adult, I will admit, when we are gliding along a river now, in a boat, and I see all the docks lined with swim ladders, I look and think, WOW, I used to do that!! LOL

Now I prefer to actually SEE what's in the water.

We used to go to Lithia Springs outside Tampa all the time. Crystal clear water in the spring area, but we'd always head over behind the spring to the Alafia River to play on the rope swing. Splash! over and over again, into that tannin-filled water that had maybe six inches of visibility. How many gators were lurking there every single time we splashed into the river?

 

[concernedmother]

This is a good lesson for people that don't know the dangers. Ive never been to FL and never seen a gator. Honestly, if I were vacationing and staying at a nice hotel on a beautiful beach I may have been wading too. I would probably take the no swimming sign as no life guards and there for liability purposes. My heart breaks for those parents. I have 2 2yr old grandchildren.

 

[cuffem]

This is a good lesson for people that don't know the dangers. Ive never been to FL and never seen a gator. Honestly, if I were vacationing and staying at a nice hotel on a beautiful beach I may have been wading too. I would probably take the no swimming sign as no life guards and there for liability purposes. My heart breaks for those parents. I have 2 2yr old grandchildren.

When traveling to someplace new it is a good idea to research any dangers,especially in the wild.

 

[keyleigh]

I don't think all people speaking up now are attention seekers. I've seen plenty of situations that make me wonder why precautions aren't being taken to avoid litigation, so I would imagine an attorney would definitely be shocked that a major corporation wasn't taking more precautions.

Extreme warnings are required for people not familiar with the dangers. I'm learning a lot more about alligators from this sad tragedy. Yikes, they aren't just lumps in the water.

Me too!

Yeah, we talked about moccasins upthread somewhere. I hate those things. They're a lot harder to avoid than gators.

Do I want to know about these hellbeasts? I'm an Aussie that is terrified at snakes. Like hysterical terror. Which is kinda funny because we have so many of the things here. Only the Sharks don't scare me.

 

[cuffem]

Me too!



Do I want to know about these hellbeasts? I'm an Aussie that is terrified at snakes. Like hysterical terror. Which is kinda funny because we have so many of the things here. Only the Sharks don't scare me.

Kayleigh,I was going to mention traveling to Queensland near the rainforest and reefs and being told of the dangers but those stinging ants scared me.

 

[cuffem]

You can have signs warning of the dangers but you can not have them in every language and some people will not see them.I recall watching numerous Chinese tourist just jumping in the ocean in Australia with warnings everywhere not to swim.Someone would always have to go and get them out and direct them to the netted swimming area.

 

[ladygator]

We used to go to Lithia Springs outside Tampa all the time. Crystal clear water in the spring area, but we'd always head over behind the spring to the Alafia River to play on the rope swing. Splash! over and over again, into that tannin-filled water that had maybe six inches of visibility. How many gators were lurking there every single time we splashed into the river?

Lovely river!!! Have you ever been to the Silver River and seen the wild monkeys? They are a trip!!! And so cute!

My Brother had a love of reptiles til he grew out of it in his 20's. He was always catching snakes and turtles to keep as pets. Imagine my families surprise when he came home with a baby gator? And my parents totally let him keep it for a while.

I seriously don't know how HE survived childhood growing up around here with some of the stuff he did. But I'm glad he did and we laugh about it now.

But as already stated, Floridians live with gators, snakes, and sharks, and the chance of being killed by one really is slim. People get bit all the time. But to die by one!!! I recall someone just last week or so got bit by a gator because he walked out his door, and it was there. Instead of calling LE or FWC, he tried to remove it himself. :facepalm:

I did run from a wild boar as a kid, lol. We were in the woods behind a friends house and the thing charged at us. We ran and hopped over that fence quick.

Baby Allie (circa 1988)

Little thing was vicious!! I remember holding it like a lizard and it's little head thrashed back and forth trying to nibble me.

 

[Curious Me]

I would be more concerned with water moccosans .I had seen them on the deck of the ferry at disney.

Yeah, we talked about moccasins upthread somewhere. I hate those things. They're a lot harder to avoid than gators.

Time for me to learn about the dangers of water moccasins. What would they do to people?

I'm in awe by the stories of the brave people swimming with alligators and water moccasins around.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

Alligator attacks like this are rare,if they weren't me and my sister would have been eaten along time ago. I learned to swim in Orlando lakes,there was a piling about 20 ft. out from an old pier I would doggy paddle to.I remember grasping that pole as something large swam underneath.There was some reeds not far and we would hear the croaking from the alligators but they never bothered us and we never bothered them.We were taught to not swim at night or go in the reeds especially during egg laying. We canoed in the Wekiva River with alligators laying on the banks and swimming under the boat but we never blinked an eye to it. Back then Wekiva was very wild with many gators but we knew where it was safe to swim.Gators were just a part of life in central Fl.,they would come into the laundry room for warmth in the winter.I hung out in the Everglades in the middle of the night fishing on weekends and you could see their eyes glow and hear the croaks.They do have a fear of humans and as long as you leave them alone,but when they get used to humans then they have no fear.
In my opinion someone had fed that gator in the past and it became accustomed to humans that equates to food.

rbbm

Alligator attacks may be rare but they do happen. The thing is you can't tell which alligators have been accustomed to humans. Being a Louisiana native, I grew up in alligator country. I'm not fearful but have a healthy respect for nature.

We had a close call with an alligator when our son was 7 or 8 as he was playing in the water right off the beach.

I think Disney should post warning signs about the danger of alligators. Even though it's a rare occurrence, if it saves one child, it's worth it. IMO

 

[cuffem]

Time for me to learn about the dangers of water moccasins. What would they do to people?

I'm in awe by the stories of the brave people swimming with alligators and water moccasins around.

Moccasins are venomous. My opinion is alligators are not as aggressive as croc's.

 

[Curious Me]

You can have signs warning of the dangers but you can not have them in every language and some people will not see them.I recall watching numerous Chinese tourist just jumping in the ocean in Australia with warnings everywhere not to swim.Someone would always have to go and get them out and direct them to the netted swimming area.

I think large sculptures of huge alligators with a leg in their mouth might be effective.
Forget little "no swimming" signs without pictures. Some people and little children can't even read, and a strong warning is needed from resorts to avoid litigation.

 

[cuffem]

The most dangerous thing in the water in Florida is the deadly amoeba that is in warm bodies of water.It enters through the nose and ears and goes to the brain.We always swam with nose and earplugs during the summer.

 

[ladygator]

I think large sculptures of huge alligators with a leg in their mouth might be effective.
Forget little "no swimming" signs without pictures. Some people and little children can't even read, and a strong warning is needed from resorts to avoid litigation.

Totally agree!!

Like a meme I recently seen that said for shark alerts on beaches, a load speaker should just play the "JAWS' song.

 

[keyleigh]

Time for me to learn about the dangers of water moccasins. What would they do to people?

I'm in awe by the stories of the brave people swimming with alligators and water moccasins around.

Me too. I think here we are so used to crocs just being killing machines that in those areas swimming etc is just not done.

 

[sonjay]

Time for me to learn about the dangers of water moccasins. What would they do to people?

I'm in awe by the stories of the brave people swimming with alligators and water moccasins around.

I think Australia has snakes that are more venomous than water moccasins. But I think water moccasins are the meanest snakes. They'll chase you down, follow you home, sabotage your car, steal your credit cards, and pour red Kool-Aid all over your white carpets. Most snakes are people-shy; but I think moccasins take special pleasure in going after people.

The alligators, though, really aren't all that risky or dangerous. From everything I've read and heard, your crocs in Oz are much more aggressive than our alligators ever dreamed of being. That's why those of us who grew up in Florida didn't and don't worry about them. The vast vast majority of the time, they don't want anything to do with people. They don't want to kill you; they just want you to leave them alone. The only alligators we really need to worry about are alligators that people have been feeding.

 

[ladygator]

The most dangerous thing in the water in Florida is the deadly amoeba that is in warm bodies of water.It enters through the nose and ears and goes to the brain.We always swam with nose and earplugs during the summer.

The forgotten about danger!!

And the flesh-eating disease. Have a friend who's Son had that last summer.

Oh, last week, they were talking about "sea-lice", WTH!!! It's lice that lives in the seaweed!!! Why have I grown up in Florida and I'm only know hearing about this stuff? :gaah:

 

[cuffem]

Besides people feeding gators,I have seen people rubbing the bellies of the young alligators to put them to sleep.

 

[sonjay]

Lovely river!!! Have you ever been to the Silver River and seen the wild monkeys? They are a trip!!! And so cute!

My Brother had a love of reptiles til he grew out of it in his 20's. He was always catching snakes and turtles to keep as pets. Imagine my families surprise when he came home with a baby gator? And my parents totally let him keep it for a while.

I seriously don't know how HE survived childhood growing up around here with some of the stuff he did. But I'm glad he did and we laugh about it now.

But as already stated, Floridians live with gators, snakes, and sharks, and the chance of being killed by one really is slim. People get bit all the time. But to die by one!!! I recall someone just last week or so got bit by a gator because he walked out his door, and it was there. Instead of calling LE or FWC, he tried to remove it himself. :facepalm:

I did run from a wild boar as a kid, lol. We were in the woods behind a friends house and the thing charged at us. We ran and hopped over that fence quick.

Baby Allie (circa 1988)

Little thing was vicious!! I remember holding it like a lizard and it's little head thrashed back and forth trying to nibble me.

Yep, I've been to see the wild monkeys. Loved it!

Your brother sounds like my husband's father. He caught an alligator when he was a young man, and he kept it as a pet for a while, until it got too big. Back in the day, that used to be common.

I guess the monsters we know just aren't as scary as the monsters we don't know. I love alligators, but I have to admit, they look terrifying.

 

[Wyle_E_Coyote]

When traveling to someplace new it is a good idea to research any dangers,especially in the wild.

But... they weren't in the wild.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[cuffem]

The forgotten about danger!!

And the flesh-eating disease. Have a friend who's Son had that last summer.

Oh, last week, they were talking about "sea-lice", WTH!!! It's lice that lives in the seaweed!!! Why have I grown up in Florida and I'm only know hearing about this stuff? :gaah:

Wow,you never heard of sea lice?They have beach warnings during the months when released and depending on ocean winds and currents.You must be on the Gulf side.