Gator

[Pipe_Dream]

This was yesterday in my neck of the woods. While I have no love for gators, I kinda feel sorry for this old guy. He was a big'un!

http://www.islandpacket.com/front/st...-5908937c.html

[willy]

They could of just moved him but then the HOA would have to pay to do that. Cheaper to get someone there to harvest it I guess.
One thing for sure, you cannot have those dinosaurs coming after your kids or whatever in your housing complex. Can you imagine your kids out playing one day and just don't come home one afternoon.
If you grow up with hundreds of them as people in Fla. do you adjust your life and train your kids from childhood to stay away from the waters etc. But the ones that come into housing areas even down there are quickly dispatched. When they don't you here about people getting killed or severly maimed all the time.

[Pipe_Dream]

Like I said, I have a healthy dislike/fear/respect for alligators, and I only observe them from afar. I don't have children, personally my biggest fear from them is that one of them would get one of my dogs. That's why my dogs don't swim in the local ponds.

The removal guys work under a state license, I believe. While the state used to pay them to remove and relocate them, they now allow them to destroy the gators and sell the meat and hide. Relocating problem gators didn't work, it just made them someone else's problem.

[THEFERMANATOR]

I love ALLIGATOR, it tastes MUCH better than chicken ;D. My dad was one of the old time FLORIDA CRACKER REBELS, so GATOR tail was a staple food growing up. He also lucked out one year and got in on one of the gator permits. I have no fear of them myself, just use common sense with em. They really have a HORRIBLE fear of people, even the big one's. They become dangerous when idiots feed them, or careless people leave food behind when they're done fishing. Then they lose there fear of people, or become accustomed to eating at a certain place. They're really not dangerous, people are dangerous.

[willy]

No, not dangerous. :o I understand your comfort with them due to your growing up with them. I also do not have any real fear of them just respect.
And I respect the fact that a decent sized one can take a full grown man down and kill him with little problem. So that means I respect them enough to remove any that are seen around where my children or wife etc. are as soon as possible if possible period.
Bears and cougars are two other critters I respect very much and handle the same way, they have the option, go somewhere else, if I'm going into some back swamp area or some remote mountain area or in the forest then I prepare for whatever may come but if they are in my immediate neighborhood they better not be visible or threatening.

[Stinky_Hooker]

We have designated gator hunts here now. It was last weekend and this weekend...only 100 tags issued. They started doing it last year. Someone got one 12'6" last weekend and "they" expect that record to hold awhile.

[tsubaki]

What's fun is to have to beat them of your catfish lines in the middle of the night!
Till they get a foot hold they are at your mercy. ;D
13' ? dinosaur is right!

[tsubaki]

I think we got 550 permits available.
I never liked the short season so I haven't applied.
Although this year it's up to 37 days.

[tsubaki]

We got to either shoot them with arrows, harpon (spell check police won't let me spell it) *them or catch them with snatch hooks or the like.
Then we can legally dispatch them by shooting them.
I think they got to be over 4 foot, hell that is about the biggest they taste good! ;D

[Stinky_Hooker]

Our laws sound the same except got to be over 6' :-/