Second gator

[mi*vida*loca]

No kidding. The comments on line in other places make me sick. Treating this as some sort of "embellishment" by the father, and saying things like "he wasn't injured at all" and suggesting that perhaps the parents drowned the kid and then made this all up. Really? People can be SUCH idiots. It was reported ORIGINALLY (and in all these stories) that the father had bite marks and needed stitches. But, yeah, sure, he probably stabbed himself in the arm or something to cover up the drowning. SMH at the stupidity (and/or cruelty) of some other humans who wander this earth.

When the story first broke that is what I initially thought. I was texting my friend and we both thought the same thing. Either it was a full blown lie to sue WDW and make millions or someone who drowned their kid and used the gator as an excuse. I didn't type it out anywhere but it was first in my mind until I found out there were witnesses.

 

[JenM]

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

During a trip in 1995, while on the ferry to MK, we actually saw a boat go by with Goofy on water skis behind it. He veered onto one of the beaches and into the trees (the drivers on the boat were yelling to our ferry "Has anyone seen Goofy?!"), and Goofy came running onto the beach and fell into the water trying to get back into the boat, and they made a whole production out of rescuing him. It was hilarious - definitely a highlight of the trip, since it was so unexpected and happened during our last day at the parks.

I'm not from FL, and I know gators are common, even in the lakes at Disney...but it never would have occurred to me that an attack could happen there so easily. This attack happened in the same lake we saw them let Goofy fall into, for crying out loud.

 

[LisaR]

So this just happened on Facebook:

We have a FB page for our subdivision. On Sunday a neighbor posted a picture of a huge gator who was soaking up the sun on the banks of our small community lake. He said he would call it in today. A few people commented but that was that.

He posted earlier today that he made the call and the trappers will be out tomorrow. This was the exchange between him and a female neighbor:

Female: How can we stop this?

Male: Stop what?

Female: Stop the gators from getting in our lake.

Male: We can't. They are gators. They go where they want.

Another neighbor: We could try putting up No Gators Allowed signs! LOL

Female: That isn't funny. I have dogs and small children. While my dogs are always on a leash, my kids like to run around and explore. They love to get close to the lake and throw rocks in there or look for fish and frogs. There has to be a way to keep our children safe.

She seriously thinks we can keep the gators out? Nobody has responded to her yet. I'm sure we all have some smart *** comments we want to make but we are trying to be good neighbors. I feel so bad for the parents at Disney. I understand that they didn't know about the threat of gators in the waters at Disney and they certainly never expected something like that to happen, but this woman in our neighborhood sounds like an idiot. You live in FL, you know the threat is very real, and yet you want a solution other than the obvious. Don't let your kids explore the banks of the lake!

 

[pocomom]

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.

There is a gator in a river in Allentown Pa right now. Last I heard they had brought in a trapper who was unsuccessful in getting him, but had seen him.

 

[bcla]

There is a gator in a river in Allentown Pa right now. Last I heard they had brought in a trapper who was unsuccessful in getting him, but had seen him.

Looked it up. Caught three weeks ago. I'm guessing winter would have been unkind.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/allentown/index.ssf/2016/06/allen_the_4-foot_gator_capture.html

 

[Jennasis]

I wonder if there is security camera footage of the attack (that should never ever see the light of day) that could corroborate the 2 gator story

 

[cabanafrau]

I wonder if there is security camera footage of the attack (that should never ever see the light of day) that could corroborate the 2 gator story

My hunch, no. That doesn't prove or disprove the idea. Very easy for one to have taken the boy and the activity to have attracted the attention of a second who dad encountered. They tend to lurk rather low in the water, so likely very difficult for most cameras to easily capture clear images.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I wonder if there is security camera footage of the attack (that should never ever see the light of day) that could corroborate the 2 gator story

Why does it need to be corroborated?

 

[Magpie]

I wonder if there is security camera footage of the attack (that should never ever see the light of day) that could corroborate the 2 gator story

Why does it need corroboration?

Why does it matter?

Either there was one gator, or there were two. Or heck, maybe there were more. Or maybe the father, in his panic, mistook a bit of flotsam for a second gator. It really doesn't make a darn bit of difference in the end.

 

[JenM]

Why does it need corroboration?

Why does it matter?

Either there was one gator, or there were two. Or heck, maybe there were more. Or maybe the father, in his panic, mistook a bit of flotsam for a second gator. It really doesn't make a darn bit of difference in the end.

Nope, it doesn't. The boy was killed by an alligator. Whether or not there was a second one doesn't change a thing. Maybe there was, maybe it was just what a panicked father thought he encountered. End result is still tragically the same. He didn't just make that statement now, it was the report he gave the night it happened - that report is just what was just made public.

Seriously...who *needs* to know this? Internet conspiracy theorists can go climb a tree, and leave this poor family alone.

 

[Jennasis]

Why does it need corroboration?

Why does it matter?

Either there was one gator, or there were two. Or heck, maybe there were more. Or maybe the father, in his panic, mistook a bit of flotsam for a second gator. It really doesn't make a darn bit of difference in the end.

I don't need corroboration (which is why I said if there is security footage it should never see the light of day), it was a orrifying accident no matter how you slice it. But I'm assuming there is an investigation into the whole incident (not just by law enforcement, but likely from insurance companies as well)...and if people start panicking about alligators now attacking in tandem, knowing whether or not that actually happened would go a long way to quelling the unease/panic...and geeze, if there were two gators involved, I just don't know what to say.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

So this just happened on Facebook:

We have a FB page for our subdivision. On Sunday a neighbor posted a picture of a huge gator who was soaking up the sun on the banks of our small community lake. He said he would call it in today. A few people commented but that was that.

He posted earlier today that he made the call and the trappers will be out tomorrow. This was the exchange between him and a female neighbor:

Female: How can we stop this?

Male: Stop what?

Female: Stop the gators from getting in our lake.

Male: We can't. They are gators. They go where they want.

Another neighbor: We could try putting up No Gators Allowed signs! LOL

Female: That isn't funny. I have dogs and small children. While my dogs are always on a leash, my kids like to run around and explore. They love to get close to the lake and throw rocks in there or look for fish and frogs. There has to be a way to keep our children safe.

She seriously thinks we can keep the gators out? Nobody has responded to her yet. I'm sure we all have some smart *** comments we want to make but we are trying to be good neighbors. I feel so bad for the parents at Disney. I understand that they didn't know about the threat of gators in the waters at Disney and they certainly never expected something like that to happen, but this woman in our neighborhood sounds like an idiot. You live in FL, you know the threat is very real, and yet you want a solution other than the obvious. Don't let your kids explore the banks of the lake!

Yikes, someone should inform her that if she wanted her kids to grow up safely playing in lakes she shouldn't be living in Florida. The gators were here long before we were!

 

[Jennasis]

I also wonder if there is some sort of underwater technology that could be employed to ward off the gators from the shoreline? Like the way they use bird distress calls to keep the birds from SSE or the bubble curtain to keep the sharks confined at the Living Seas. I have no idea how gator brains/eyes/ears work, but is there a frequency that could be emitted underwater that frightens them off? Ugh...it's just all so awful.

 

[maxiesmom]

During a trip in 1995, while on the ferry to MK, we actually saw a boat go by with Goofy on water skis behind it. He veered onto one of the beaches and into the trees (the drivers on the boat were yelling to our ferry "Has anyone seen Goofy?!"), and Goofy came running onto the beach and fell into the water trying to get back into the boat, and they made a whole production out of rescuing him. It was hilarious - definitely a highlight of the trip, since it was so unexpected and happened during our last day at the parks.

I'm not from FL, and I know gators are common, even in the lakes at Disney...but it never would have occurred to me that an attack could happen there so easily. This attack happened in the same lake we saw them let Goofy fall into, for crying out loud.

I'm pretty sure Goofy wasn't skiing at night, or in the near dark, right? He also probably didn't linger by the shore, splashing in the water. Those things are what attracted the gator to the shore--they feed at night and the splashing sounds like prey.

To the people commenting how they use to play in the water in the 70s, gators were on the endangered species list for 1967 to 1987. The odds of an attack now are small, then it was miniscule.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Why does it need corroboration?

Why does it matter?

Either there was one gator, or there were two. Or heck, maybe there were more. Or maybe the father, in his panic, mistook a bit of flotsam for a second gator. It really doesn't make a darn bit of difference in the end.

The father had to have stitches in his leg. Flotsam wouldn't do that. Wildlife officials hauled away several gators before they found the right one. That's enough corroboration for me.

 

[JimMIA]

I wonder if there is security camera footage of the attack (that should never ever see the light of day) that could corroborate the 2 gator story

It would not be the least bit unusual for one alligator to be attracted by another alligator taking prey.

The normal response is to go to the area and see if you can take the prey away from the gator who caught it. It's also normal behavior for an alligator to check to see if it can take prey away from any other predator (bird, turtle, whatever). Happens a thousand times a day in the Everglades.

 

[JenM]

I'm pretty sure Goofy wasn't skiing at night, or in the near dark, right? He also probably didn't linger by the shore, splashing in the water. Those things are what attracted the gator to the shore--they feed at night and the splashing sounds like prey.

To the people commenting how they use to play in the water in the 70s, gators were on the endangered species list for 1967 to 1987. The odds of an attack now are small, then it was miniscule.

Actually, Goofy DID linger...it was during the day, but he ran off the beach, fell into the water, and was making quite a commotion in the water while trying to get the boat to come and get him. My point in bringing that up in all was in response to someone who also said they saw quite a bit of regular activity on the water (mouseboats, fireworks cruises, etc) that even though one might know gators are common in FL, the amount of activity on that lagoon can easily give one a false sense of security that the water is safe.

I don’t think this attack was Disney’s fault - or anyone’s fault. But when people started wagging their fingers at these poor parents for assuming the water was ok to go wading in, my first thought was that time we saw Goofy on the water skis out there.

You can’t assume people understand all of the dangers out there, especially in a tourist resort filled with people who aren’t from FL. I work in Times Square, so I’m surrounded by tourists every day. What’s common sense to me isn’t to them.

 

[Disney Doll]

Well, surprise! I know there are alligators in Florida, had no idea that there were alligators in every body of water. I know there are bears in my state, but know there won't be any in my town. You can pretty much be assured that if you are at Great Adventure, you won't run into any bears.

You know, up until a couple of weeks ago I would have thought there were no bears in my town. Fairly densely populated Suburban town right next door to a reasonably large city. Some wooded areas but not what you think would be be large enough to support a bear.

And yet one appeared in the football field of the local high school.

So don't be so sure that you won't see a bear near your house...

 

[TLSnell1981]

The father had to have stitches in his leg. Flotsam wouldn't do that. Wildlife officials hauled away several gators before they found the right one. That's enough corroboration for me.

Wasn't there a witness that corroborated the presence of a second gator?

 

[bcla]

You know, up until a couple of weeks ago I would have thought there were no bears in my town. Fairly densely populated Suburban town right next door to a reasonably large city. Some wooded areas but not what you think would be be large enough to support a bear.

And yet one appeared in the football field of the local high school.

So don't be so sure that you won't see a bear near your house...

The American black bear can be quite adaptable to living near people. Try Los Angeles County in the area near Angeles National Forest. A few cities require the use of bear resistant trash cans on collection day. Bears have been spotted in Pasadena.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-bears-spring-20160524-snap-story.html

However, I've heard of some real doozies, including bears that wandered all the way to Reno. There really isn't what you'd think of as bear territory for at least 25 miles. Those bears just wandered along roads and neighborhoods.