Uninvited Guest

That time of the year.
Watch your step!

Greetings,
Mr. KJ. "Watch your step!" GOOD call. I don't know how common gators are in North MB but a few years back there were several gator sightings in the Dismal Swamp Canal near the VA border. Fairly rare occurrence, I was told at the time.



I guess due to climate change their territory is slowly creeping northward. Heads up to all the members in New England.

Holy crap I was just swimming in North Myrtle like 2 days ago! TWICE!!!!!

Your chances of being killed or hurt were much higher while in your car on the drive to the beach.

Dang! I've been up & down the waterway many times and seen bears ,manatees and all kinds of wildlife but never a gator! It's probably just as well. A manatee wouldn't give me nightmares.

Fletcher500 said:

Your chances of being killed or hurt were much higher while in your car on the drive to the beach.

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Yeah I know, but jumping into water with as much visibility as my morning coffee knowing there are gators still doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies.

Oh look, a Florida duck!

They generally don't feed during the day, so just stay out of the water after dark!

They wander into the marina in late spring/early summer. I was told by a biologist that they are mostly young males that have been chased away by dominant bulls and are out looking to set up their own “territory”. They definitely have an effect on the baby duck population.
I don’t know how far north they’ve migrated, but I hear they found some big ones in a place called “Lake Placid” in New York.

Got a little one in my creek in NC. See it a few times a year.

Ski in NC said:

Got a little one in my creek in NC. See it a few times a year.

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There is always at least 2, so keep looking and bring the dogs inside.

This guy keeps an eye on my boat while I'm away. There are a couple of them in the marina.

menzies said:

Oh look, a Florida duck!

They generally don't feed during the day, so just stay out of the water after dark!

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"generally"

When I was much younger I trailered my 18 foot speedboat from Chicago to Clearwater FL. My brother and I went to a local lake, launched the boat and spent the day waterskiing. We were the only ones on the lake and had a fine time.

The next day we learned that the lake was “closed” due to the alligator risk. ��

There was about a 12' alligator dead on side of the highway about a mile form my office.
The price of alligator has dropped so much not many people are trapping them. They are quickly over populating in South Louisiana.
Last summer I walked out to get in my truck to go to work and a 10' alligator was sitting next to my trash can.

I used to watch that show on TV of the guys hunting them in Louisiana. Has the increased population caused the price to drop? Are there plans by the local or Feds to cull them in the future?

No culling required in Florida.

The pythons are taking care of them!

We stopped by FF's in April. We were warned not to let Holly go swimming. Actually, I think it's one of his pets.

This one showed up behind my friends sailboat the other day. Same marina but different dock. I'm less than thrilled, and I don't care what the wildlife dept says, I'm from Louisiana and should he venture to my boat I'll have a new pair of boots with a matching handbag.

latravcha said:

There was about a 12' alligator dead on side of the highway about a mile form my office.
The price of alligator has dropped so much not many people are trapping them. They are quickly over populating in South Louisiana.
Last summer I walked out to get in my truck to go to work and a 10' alligator was sitting next to my trash can.

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We used to clean helicopters in Intracoastal City with them sunning on the pad directly next to us.

I had a few in a canal directly behind my house, and I had a newborn and a 3 year old. I put up a fence the day after I saw one. I'm always the guy here who says you don't have to fear sharks...but those things creap me out big time!!

MR. Slithering

Cottonmouth Water Moccasin
This guy was in the marina parking lot. I didn't see it till I turned around and almost stepped on it.
Very bad attitude! KJ

Great pic!Of the Moc...

Steve91T said:

Yeah I know, but jumping into water with as much visibility as my morning coffee knowing there are gators still doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies.

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Hahah!!

Reminds me of a joke...

https://www.dailyjokes.co/joke/John...yNet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyjokes

Fletcher500 said:

I used to watch that show on TV of the guys hunting them in Louisiana. Has the increased population caused the price to drop? Are there plans by the local or Feds to cull them in the future?

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Yep that show is interesting. I know most of the people on the show and my wife handled one of the cast members divorce. BTW that show is reality TV almost noting is real.

The population increase is due to most fishermen not fishing anymore because of price. 5 years ago they were getting around $18 a foot for anything over 10 feet and something like $12 a foot for anything under 10 feet. The past 2 years they have been paying $5 a foot and would not take anything under 6 feet.
Both the lack of demand for alligator and the number of alligator farms has cause the price to drop and the wild population to increase.
Currently alligator tags in Louisiana are controlled be large land owners and issued by the state. The landowners then sell the tags to the fishermen. For the last 2 years most fishermen have not purchased the tags from the landowners. This year I had a landowner give me 5 tags to take some customers out to trap alligators. It was pretty funny when they were disappointing when the alligators did not roll and thrash like the do on TV when we pulled them up. After the 3rd alligator I had to show them what was done to make the roll and thrash.

Yep it is all good until they eat you dog or one of the kids.
I raise and train bird dogs. My current dog was not cheap and I probably have over 2,000 hours in training the dog. I use the pond in my backyard to train my dogs. Needless to say any alligator in my pond or yard is handled appropriately.

toocoys said:

We used to clean helicopters in Intracoastal City with them sunning on the pad directly next to us.

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We have a couple in our creek near New Bern NC too. One of the neighbors was paddleboarding and saw him in the channel!! It's supposedly like 10 feet long.


They're also in South River, which is a favorite anchorage. Guess we aren't swimming much this year!