Is this photo shop?

[oceanblueeyes]

It does seem photoshopped - I mean who in their right minds would remain that close to a HUGE wild predator....and get down on the ground?! That is nuts! I've heard that gaters can move very, very quickly on land in short spurts when they want to. (Run zig-zag if chased as the alligator cannot change direction quickly.)

If it's real (and I think it is, despite feeling aghast that people stood there), I think the people spotted the animal in the wooded area and were ready to snap photos when it crossed the path.

I have seen alligators in the wild on a trip to Louisiana many years ago. I was scared!

jmo

A lot of photographers take photos of wide open areas so I am not surprised they had a camera. This old guy has lived a long time to get this large. In Georgia we have had 14 feet+ alligators caught that weighed over a 1000-1100 pounds.

I think they may have felt safe since he wasn't even interested in them and was going in the opposite direction when crossing.

 

[Elley Mae]

Kristi Buckley was also there, snapping pictures just feet from the massive gator.

Buckley said the gator actually has a nickname among regulars at the preserve, Mr. Humpback. She and her husband are calling it Godzilla.

bbm

https://www.google.com/maps/place/T...cfe3386a014a56!8m2!3d27.9964122!4d-81.8652489



http://www.ktvb.com/life/large-gato...at-the-polk-nature-discovery-center/386547149

 

[policyoftruth501]

Alligators will mind their own business and if you get too close to them they will make noises to let you know you're in their space. As long as you don't get in their way, they'll leave you alone. Plus, this guy doesn't look like he's starving.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bessie]

Think I might need to consider relocating also. Not really, but dang that is huge.

Any estimates on size?

I read 9 feet. My husband's uncle had one that was 8-9 feet, a big guy. The uncle kept him in a pond with a tall chain link fence around it. I've seen others nearly as big. Not unusual in south Louisiana.

 

[CARIIS]

I read 9 feet. My husband's uncle had one that was 8-9 feet, a big guy. The uncle kept him in a pond with a tall chain link fence around it. I've seen others nearly as big. Not unusual in south Louisiana.

like seen up close ??

 

[Moxie Vi]

I live on a lake in Florida that used to be a federally protected aquatic preserve (lots of Gators). I've never seen one that tall or with tusks. Perhaps I'm not looking at the clearest picture though. To me the picture looks more like a boar. That being said, I wouldn't be shocked if I was wrong and it is real.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[MaryG12]

Nope, it is real - I live in Florida - one time several years ago my husband and I went hiking at Mabry Carlton Preserve in Venice (where we lived at the time; now we are in Sarasota) and saw a good-sized adult sunning himself right in the middle of the green-blazed trail. Needless to say we had to find a detour and avoid disturbing its nap :O

Normally gators are shy and will escape into a nearby lake if there is one if people approach.

There are laws on the books regarding interaction between humans and gators because it appears some well humans do stupid things around gators.

1. It is illegal to feed alligators.
2. It is also illegal to molest alligators - which means killing, harming, or touching them.
3. It is also illegal to trap a gator and make a pet of it, also illegal to steal gator eggs from its nest.

http://legalbeagle.com/6736109-florida-alligator-laws.html

http://myfwc.com/media/1531908/alligator-rules-booklet.pdf

Just use some common sense and don't ever approach a gator. Give it space (kind of hard to do in Florida this time of year when all of the "snowbirds" are down here LOL) and no accidents will happen.

 

[Elley Mae]

The largest alligator officially recorded in Florida was 17 feet, 5 inches, while the largest ever was 19 feet, three inches, reported in Louisiana.

https://www.floridamemory.com/photographiccollection/photo_exhibits/alligators/

bbm

 

[watcher9]

Just be careful where you go swimming!

 

[bessie]

Just be careful where you go swimming!

For sure, and if you go swimming at night, look around you for the little red lights staring back at you. We used to see them all the time around the bayou where my grandparents lived. I recall later in life as an adult, my husband and I were visiting our friends on their houseboat docked in Lake Vermilion. We swam all day, and not a sign of a gator. That night, we were out on the lake in the boat going to the little restaurant and bar on shore. Looking around, there were hundreds of red eyes every which way you could see. Believe it or not, I still swam awhile the next day, but stayed very close to the houseboat and had my husband standing watch for me.

 

[bessie]

like seen up close ??

Yes, up close, on or near the shore, while I was fishing or boating.

I posted a photo here a few years ago of a big gator caught on the Mississippi River levee not far from where I live. It was in the spring, and the river was near flood stage. I don't recall just how long that fella was, but he was a big'un. lol. I'm more afraid of flying cockroaches than alligators.

 

[animlzrule]

It's fascinating to see this, and I love to see wildlife in action, but I also hate when the whereabouts of incredible animals like these are publicized. It seems they so often become targets for cruel, ignorant thrill seekers and killers. If anyone chooses to mess with him, I hope he gets the best of them. (Rhyme unintended)

 

[bessie]

Alligators will mind their own business and if you get too close to them they will make noises to let you know you're in their space. As long as you don't get in their way, they'll leave you alone. Plus, this guy doesn't look like he's starving.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They're pretty aggressive during mating season in the spring. This time of year they brummate, i.e., go dormant, but not to the state of hibernation. But any time of year, it's true that giving the gator a wide berth generally will keep you safe.

 

[dalsglen]

Holy moly, remind me to never leave the UK ever again!!

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Think I might need to consider relocating also. Not really, but dang that is huge.

Any estimates on size?

Yuge!

 

[CARIIS]

Holy moly, remind me to never leave the UK ever again!!

That is just funny!!!

 

[CARIIS]

They're pretty aggressive during mating season in the spring. This time of year they brummate, i.e., go dormant, but not to the state of hibernation. But any time of year, it's true that giving the gator a wide berth generally will keep you safe.

I ended up going totally off topic! But we are doggie lovers!!

OK this is not helpful. Live right off a little pond, and there have been them in there.

Old property manager was so bad, I went to lowes and bought this like 800 lumens light that I put on when I took her out in darkness

They are disgusting - sitting there with there little eyes above water.. Less scared with Cari than Lady.

Cari was old. Little miss Lady is a coon hound, and mr daddy is older

Lady would totally lunge- period, and daddy would fall down it truly is that simple..

I am upstairs with lots of windows - helps with the depression and I can see when the creepy things are there

Its not often , been bout 4 times since 2005-

BUT they ****** creep me out cause of my babies - Cari I felt like I would be able to contol

not with my Lady love bug--she is a rascal, I just found cardboard stuff chewed

she is not destructive, she is a puppy!

Where on earth this came from (cardboard)I have no idea!

But it is not destructive chewing, it is being a puppy and everything looks so much fun to check it out with your little nose!!

Have any of you seen the movie Twister?

I do think it is cute, but not at times- she buries under the sheets, but you can make the bed at 10 AM and she loves to go nuts under a made bed- it looks like Hiroshima!

But in darkness, I like it when I am in there.

Amazing- goes nuts but gets it to where her little black nose is out in the clear. That is all you see - a little black nose outside, and a bedspread that looks like World War 2!
I did look up coon hounds and it is normal for them to do this

She is right here by me now but under !! And her little black nose is just sticking out

how did i digress so much


LOVE LOVE she is fascinating creature - and her nose IS different than any other doggies I have loved ..

Its like super doppler !!!

Not sure if I have it backwards But hounds track - other babies trail. She could care less about grass - nothing - she is tracking along under trees - night before raccoons, squirrels amarafdilos , etc!

Humane socety did not say coon hound they said mix. After a couple of weeks it was like online- she was just different.

Ah ha coon hound - and watched a bunch of you tube stuff total coon hound!!!

There hounds all my other babies (I learrned this!) had about 150 million nose receptors)

The pure hound comes in at 300 million. My lady love but comes in t around 275 million.

It is so different

A ten pound white doggie, compared to a ten pound doggie that looks like a raccoon - the response is wildly different


!!

I digress --again!

But our babies are awesome!!

 

[MaryG12]

Just be careful where you go swimming!

Exactly! Avoid swimming in lakes (I know they can be very appealing, but then that is why gators love them too), stick to pools (that is why so many homes have pools but then again watch out because gators have been known to sneak into swimming pools).


Oceans are pretty safe but again, guess what, gators can and will make their way to the ocean.


One contributing factor (and not a good one IMHO) to so many gator encounters too is the rate of Florida's population growth and land development which has not really helped wildlife. My husband and I have been in FL for 10 years now and we have witnessed the significant population growth in the state.

We may end up moving back to AZ later this year. There is more room in the desert.

 

[Jax49]

Check this out.

Florida tourists film gator jumping into their boat


http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article127451459.html

 

[policyoftruth501]

Don't ever crowd a gator.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk