Any thoughts on this news story???

[Rmk1999]

Gator Attack

Shame they had to kill the alligator.

[Mark_scuba]

People just don't listen....
They tell you why you shouldnt feed the alligators...
Now another innocent reptile had to die..

[lethargiic]

florida law states that alligators that are a nuissence or have killed/injured a person must be put to death if it exceeds the 4ft rule. gators that are less the 4ft in lenght are relocated to the everglades 98% of the time.

Yes it's a shame but would you want a 9ft gator roaming in your neighborhood killing your pets or family? Secondly it's against the law in the state of florida to feed gators. so if it's against the law then people will still do it anyway.

[schmelkdog]

any of you ever been around an angry gator? Their call is something to hear. I remember once my family had some friends visiting and so we took em for a walk in Shark Valley (everglades). Their kid was about 16 and wouldn't pay attention to the signs and kept wanting to wander off the path. I heard that sound and sure enough he was off the path and poking his head through the brush trying to get a closer look at the water. I get over to him to pull him back when the gator made his warning again. The kid couldn't see him but it but there were it's eyes just above the water only a few feet from him!
I figure that more than half the time these things are the results of someone doing something stupid, like not paying attention to the warning signs or thinking it's cool to feed the "cute gators".

[lisagordier]

Originally Posted by lethargiic

Yes it's a shame but would you want a 9ft gator roaming in your neighborhood killing your pets or family? Secondly it's against the law in the state of florida to feed gators. so if it's against the law then people will still do it anyway.

Yep, I know about the Florida law as well. And this is meant as a compromise in regards to the gators vs. people. The only reason they had to kill the gator is not only because it was over 4ft., but because it was used to being fed (and around) people. This makes it even more dangerous. Think of what a really hungry, very large retic python would do.

[cold blooded]

Originally Posted by Rmk1999

Gator Attack

Shame they had to kill the alligator.

Shame the gator killed a man! If they didn't kill it he would have killed more people, maybe little kids because now it associates people with food. Little kids. Now THATwould be a shame!

[schmelkdog]

"Residents said they had fed the alligator, which is illegal and dangerous, said Gary Morse, spokesman for the wildlife commission.

Alligators normally flee from humans unless threatened or cornered, but alligators that have been fed by humans begin to look at them as a food source, he noted."

sure it would be a shame, one can't argue with that. It is a shame though that not only do we encroach on their enviroment we also condition them to look to us for/as food. What has to be done has to be done but maybe if people would show more sense less stupid things would happen. Had a thing a few years ago near Miami that had a guy get attacked. Turned out this nice little old lady had been feeding the sucker for years. The gator had to be put down but it didn't put itself in that position. That's a shame.

[blkcrochunter]

Another reason I think they killed the gator is because he tasted human flesh. Which the gator might have considered people as a prey item.

[xxxjustinxxx]

its still not fair to me no matter what, they should have called in animal control tranquilized the gator and let it set free in an reptile reserve.