Second gator

[SgtTibbs]

Or stop feeding the gators and stop wondering why so many of them keep coming back for more.

That's unlikely. With all the new signs telling people there are gators present, you know some people are going to want to see them and will be tossing food into the water hoping to lure them into sight. Its what people do.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I grew up in FL... Lived there for 25 years and still don't really consider the possibility of one of my kids getting snatched by a gator.
The first things you learn as a kid growing up in FL are:
1) How to swim
2) Zig-Zag run
3) "The Stingray shuffle"

I know the rules and I know where there is water there are gators. Do I know it can happen? Yes. Does it seem likely in my mind? No. So I can absolutely understand why this family didn't assess the danger of an alligator attack.

 

[Cantw8]

Isn't the 7 Seas Lagoon where there are mouseboats? I remember taking my kids out on them. Im pretty sure it was at The Grand Floridian. So what happens if someone is not swimming but falls off a damn boat and encounters a gator? Are they still at fault? Is Disney? Also, years ago they had fireworks cruises. Do they still have them? Yes, of course everyone knows there are gators in Florida but as someone else posted, it wouldn't register on my awareness radar in Walt Disney World. I would just expect that activities would not be planned in bodies of water where I could get eaten

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Isn't the 7 Seas Lagoon where there are mouseboats? I remember taking my kids out on them. Im pretty sure it was at The Grand Floridian. So what happens if someone is not swimming but falls off a damn boat and encounters a gator? Are they still at fault? Is Disney? Also, years ago they had fireworks cruises. Do they still have them? Yes, of course everyone knows there are gators in Florida but as someone else posted, it wouldn't register on my awareness radar in Walt Disney World. I would just expect that activities would not be planned in bodies of water where I could get eaten

When I was little you could swim there. I have pictures of myself and many other kids in the background doing just that.

 

[Jennasis]

Gators don't typically hunt with others...perhaps they were mating?? Or maybe dad was in shock and confused.

 

[AppleDumpling]

Isn't the 7 Seas Lagoon where there are mouseboats?

Yes, we rented then on several occasions and drove all around both the lagoon and Bay Lake. They were a lot of fun. I believe they're now called Sea Racers.

When I was little you could swim there. I have pictures of myself and many other kids in the background doing just that.

I know I swam off the beach at the Polynesian as a kid in the 70's. They also used to have a water skiing show there both during the day and at night with characters ( I remember Goofy doing stunts on skis).

 

[wishesuponastar]

Yes, we rented then on several occasions and drove all around both the lagoon and Bay Lake. They were a lot of fun. I believe they're now called Sea Racers.


I know I swam off the beach at the Polynesian as a kid in the 70's. They also used to have a water skiing show there both during the day and at night with characters ( I remember Goofy doing stunts on skis).

Now that you mention sea racers, I think we could have got one to use for free as part of a AAA discount. I never used it but I never thought there were gators in that water either. AAA or Disney should have mentioned there were gators.

 

[AppleDumpling]

^^^Totally agree, Disney should warn people of potential life-threatening danger for all activities in and around water, no matter how small the odds, and should have been doing it for years.

 

[bcla]

There's been the occasional claim of an alligator sighting at Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. I've taken my kid there on a paddle boat. Most of the claims are of small gators under 3 ft, like someone had one illegally as a pet and then dumped it when it got too big. An alligator would probably die in the winter here without a heat lamp. One was actually found at a lake in San Francisco. They even brought a gator trapper from Florida who spent three days, found it, but couldn't bag it. They finally got it in October.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/The-Tale-of-the-Mountain-Lake-Monster-As-the-2967233.php

There is a captive albino alligator in Golden Gate Park. It was captured in Florida and probably wouldn't have survived in the wild for a number of reasons. It also doesn't seem to do well with other alligators, which seem to be hostile due to its appearance.

 

[robinb]

Do gators usually work together to bring down their prey? I thought they worked alone.

 

[bcla]

I don't know if this sets a good example.

This is real. It's an animal trainer in the Chicago area who took in this gator as a rescue animal, along with this one:

Don't know if this is a good idea. The same trainer has snakes and a monitor lizard. Reminds me of former San Francisco Chronicle editor Phil Bronstein. He actually tried going into that lake with the alligator but was held back by the police. His ex-wife is actress Sharon Stone, and when they were married she paid for a special VIP tour of the Los Angeles Zoo for his birthday. The keepers said he should try getting into the enclosure with a komodo dragon, but that he should probably take his white sneakers off so that it wouldn't see something that looked like its favorite treat of white rats. So he walked barefoot into a cage with a komodo dragon. What could go wrong?

 

[robinb]

We are probably going on a cruise next month and I was reading reviews for excursions. One of them showed someone feeding chunks of bread to gators in a swamp. D-U-M-B.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Isn't the 7 Seas Lagoon where there are mouseboats? I remember taking my kids out on them. Im pretty sure it was at The Grand Floridian. So what happens if someone is not swimming but falls off a damn boat and encounters a gator? Are they still at fault? Is Disney? Also, years ago they had fireworks cruises. Do they still have them? Yes, of course everyone knows there are gators in Florida but as someone else posted, it wouldn't register on my awareness radar in Walt Disney World. I would just expect that activities would not be planned in bodies of water where I could get eaten

I think if you're going to do activities in an outdoor environment there has to be some assumption of risk.

 

[BigAlsGal]

Was it on the grassy knoll?

Sorry....poor taste but I couldn't resist.

 

[pocomom]

Do gators usually work together to bring down their prey? I thought they worked alone.

They do actually pack hunt.

 

[pocomom]

Gators don't typically hunt with others...perhaps they were mating?? Or maybe dad was in shock and confused.

They do hunt in groups , they are actually social, but I think this points strongly to the gators actively hunting vs. the child disturbing a gator or something.

 

[kamik86]

And that's the part that I find surprising. Because I'm not from Florida and I know this because everything I've ever seen in TV or read about Florida mentions alligators. I know they can climb chain link fences.

I'm not from Arizona or New Mexico but I know the desert has scorpions and rattlers. I'm not from Maine but I know there are bears and moose there.

It doesn't shock me that people thrashing around in the water attracted more than one alligator.

It's s terrible tragic accident for this family. My heart goes out to them.

I'm wondering if part of it is just not knowing what activities are so dangerous.

I'm from Massachusetts so we have a moose and bear. I haven't seen a wild bear around here (but did in Alaska) but have seen quite a few moose. Just being near them and making a bit of noise won't get you attacked. Actually making noise is generally a good thing as then they know where you are well before your close enough to be threatening and they tend to just leave. Unless your between them and their young you're probably fine.

I can't tell you the last time I have heard of either attacking someone in the area. Most of the injuries that have to do with either are due to hitting them with the car. Well and that whole thing with the guy in the next town over chasing a bear with a hatchet... but that guy wasn't attacked or hurt either.

 

[Cantw8]

I think if you're going to do activities in an outdoor environment there has to be some assumption of risk.

When doing water activities at a resort, a reasonable assumption of risk to me would be that I would drown, not that I could be eaten. Years ago. my father and I took an airboat ride through the Everglades. Now that was a situation where I could assume there was a chance for me to become something's snack....not at a World Disney World Resort

 

[cabanafrau]

What I find more surprising is that it is known that the Seven Seas Lagoon and I believe other bodies of water there are known to have that amoeba, yet the signage was not more insistent to STAY OUT OF THE WATER, period. I had heard about the amoeba for years but only found out how dangerous it is with the death of the girl in NC on a rafting trip last month. Virtually all who have been known to come into contact with that amoeba have resulted in fatalities, there is no cure.

It is not that long since Disney has advertised the Grand Floridian with photos of a couple strolling shin deep in the lagoon. Kids commonly take their pails to the water's edge to get some water for building their sandcastles. The water's edge is precisely where that amoeba flourishes most. The fact that Disney didn't do more to alert its guests to the multiple dangers lurking in the waters is shocking to me. Getting a pail of water wasn't warned against on the previous signs and to suggest Disney didn't know that was a common occurrence is laughable. Nope, Disney has no excuses in my mind for neglecting to make the risks and dangers absolutely open and obvious.

 

[JoeA]

When doing water activities at a resort, a reasonable assumption of risk to me would be that I would drown, not that I could be eaten. Years ago. my father and I took an airboat ride through the Everglades. Now that was a situation where I could assume there was a chance for me to become something's snack....not at a World Disney World Resort

Why would an open body of water in a resort be any different than an open body of water elsewhere? I have been to Aulani several times and swam in the lagoon. Should I assume it's "shark free" because it's somewhat protected and a Disney resort? Just too many points of entry to "assume" nothing can get in or out.