PRESS-REGISTER (Mobile, Alabama) 04 June 06 Gators part of coastal life in South
In the south Louisiana area where I grew up, one of the more upscale developments was on the shore of a local lake.
The subdivision included canals leading from the more expensive homes to the lake. The houses were quite popular, particularly among people moving into the area to work in the oil industry.
New residents, however, began to notice a rash of pet losses. Animals, particularly small dogs, were disappearing from back yards of the waterfront homes.
Some residents were outraged. Some were baffled. The Acadian long-time residents knew the answer, but had a question of their own.
Haven't these people ever heard of alligators?
Alligators have been on people's minds lately following three fatal attacks in Florida.
Is this the sign of a trend? Have alligators been driven to attack for some reason? Or is it a statistical coincidence?
This is the alligator mating season, the time when male alligators are most aggressive. It's also one of the driest springs on record and some alligators may have to move to find suitable habitat, even if that habitat puts the reptiles in closer proximity to people.
People are also easier for gators to be close to these days as more waterfront areas are developed.
Alligators are one of those creatures that fascinate many people, particularly folks from areas where you don't find the reptiles.
That's understandable. Alligators look like something left over from the age of dinosaurs, perhaps because they are something left over from the age of dinosaurs, and they're right here. You see them in the swamps and rivers or in the pond next to fifth hole fairway, adding new meaning to the term water hazard.
Appreciating any of nature's creatures is commendable, as long as those doing the appreciation show sense.
That is -- do not, ever feed alligators.
"A fed alligator is a dead alligator," as game and fish officials say every time we call about alligator reports.
Feeding alligators causes them to lose their fear of people. It also makes the reptiles associate people with food, which is not a good thing to happen with a predator that can grow to 14 feet long.
If the alligators attacked the people who fed them, this might cut down on the practice. What seems to happen, however, is those people go home with their stories. Then someone else is either terrified or injured when the hungry gator comes back for another handout.
Residents worry about their children. Tourists get nervous. The alligator is now a threat and is killed. Pretty much nobody comes out ahead unless you count the person who tossed the chicken thighs to the alligator in the first place and who now has a photo of what looks to others like a log in the water.
With more people moving closer to the water, encounters with alligators are going to continue.
The alligators were here first by a few million years and they're not going away.
Alligators are part of life in the coastal South, but they were not put here for our amusement. We need to remember that while attacks are rare, these are large predators that are designed to kill things in or near the water. Most people, with the possible exemption of Tarzan, are not going to get the best of an alligator in an encounter in the water.
We can respect them as part of our coastal habitat, but if we want a closer look, a zoo or an alligator farm would be a better solution than trying to lure one to the wharf.
As with many things, the best protection is common sense.
Gators part of coastal life in South