AFP 06 September 05 New Orleans dead become target for alligators
New Orleans, United States (AFP): Alligators are stalking the flooded waters of New Orleans and rescuers fear that they will eat the bodies of Hurricane Katrina's victims.
Michael Rieger, a public information officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), told Tuesday how crews in patrol boats searching for survivors had seen many alligators in the floodwaters.
Authorities have just started the operation to recover what could be thousands of bodies in the floodwaters, on the streets and trapped in homes. But Rieger told AFP: "There are a lot of people that are never going to be found. There are a lot of alligators in the water, and alligators love that type of stuff."
The spokesman said that National Guard, police and other emergency services had been leaving Global Positioning System (GPS) indicators on bodies they find in the streets so they can return to them after evacuating the living.
"Hopefully we find as many people as possible to give the families closure," Rieger said.
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CHICAGO TRIBUNE (Illinois) 06 September 05 Woman, 63, toughs it out with 'gator
Slidell, La.: For nearly a week after Hurricane Katrina blew through, Nancy Hirschfeld faced off with the golf course alligator.
Only her back porch, with its four-by-fours sunk in concrete, kept her trailer abutting the Oak Harbor Golf Club from blowing away. Only patience, she believes, let her prevail against the alligator.
Don't let the pink shorts and T-shirt fool you. At 63, Hirschfeld is a tough woman. She has lived in that mobile home for 27 years and kept a .38 revolver for 25 of them, just to be safe.
Hirschfeld said she saw the 'gator early last week, floating in the water that surrounded her home. It had a head like a serving platter.
When she eased into the water and tried to wade to dry ground and food, the head dropped out of sight. She might not have been able to see the alligator, but Hirschfeld said something primal inside her told her it was coming toward her. She got out .
Not until Saturday, she said, did the water drop low enough to let her slog away without being stalked.
On Monday, she visited human residents camping in their front yard nearby. They had a car and brought her food, water and ice, and other items.
"They gave me a pack of cigarettes, thank God. I've been chewing gum," she said. "I guess you should try to quit when you're under less stress."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0509060172sep06,1,2244277.story?ctrack=1&cset=true