Two Alligators Involved

[mcjaco]

If Daytona chose (maybe they have already, I've never been there), they could create shark free swimming areas along the beach with netting, chemical deterrents, decoys and other measures. WDW should be an alligator free zone. Eliminate the resident population (which can be done with multiple techniques), improve barriers at known access points, use of traps, decoys, and chemical measures. There really are too many different methods to talk about here. The only problem for some is that most all of them are more aggressive and would work too well so people wouldn't be able to feed the alligators on their vacation anymore.

 

[romitaz]

If Daytona chose (maybe they have already, I've never been there), they could create shark free swimming areas along the beach with netting, chemical deterrents, decoys and other measures. WDW should be an alligator free zone. Eliminate the resident population (which can be done with multiple techniques), improve barriers at known access points, use of traps, decoys, and chemical measures. There really are too many different methods to talk about here. The only problem for some is that most all of them are more aggressive and would work too well so people wouldn't be able to feed the alligators on their vacation anymore.

And the rhetoric just keeps going. Wow, how about collateral damage with all of the said deterrents? Also, you are STILL painting with a very broad and vague brush on said methods. Barriers don't work unless you advocate a 10' solid wall around the property. I've changed my mind. I am now of the solid belief that you have absolutely no clue of what you speak, hence the broad terms that you pulled up in a page one Google search. This has a very trollish smell to it now.

 

[whiporee]

News articles have stated numerous times Disney works closely with Florida wildlife officials. Wildlife preserve boundaries change all the time. All of those legal thing can be changed with cooperation. If Disney went to the State and said it need to eliminate its gator problem, it's something that could be worked out. I can think of one body of water in Florida that I guarantee doesn't have alligators in it. It is the crocodile habitat on Kilimanjaro Safari's. Even if an alligator were to somehow get into the habitat it wouldn't last long. That is basically the same principal of wildlife control and, no you don't need to enclose all of WDW to have the the same effect. You just have to limit the population, restrict access, and remove rouge animals before the pose a threat. Don't get hung up on laws and illegal aspects. They can always be changed or exceptions can be made. We can only hope that a tragedy like can have some good and will help WDW get rid of the alligators (or any other dangerous predators from its property.

I think we're 5-8 years away from any large assault on the alligator population, but I don't think it will be any longer than that.

1) Florida's legislature has been pretty much perma-reded now. This is not an environmentally friendly group.

2) As the alligator population in suburban and urban Florida increases (or explodes, which it will because there's nothing to limit it) there will be more nuisance calls about them. There may not be many more attacks on people, but there will be more attacks on dogs, on cats, more alligators ending up in places people don't want them to be.

3) This will call for a rewriting of Florida laws when it comes to alligators, and allowing for more aggressive approaches to controlling them. For example, the 4-foot rule is antiquated and won't last much longer, because there's nothing in a suburban Florida lake that can kill a four foot alligator except a larger alligator. All that leaving four footers (or three, or even two) footers alone does is ensure they grow up to be larger alligators.

4) The laws won't face much Floridian opposition, because the people who live there DON'T WANT THEM IN THEIR BACKYARDS, OR EATING THEIR DOGS, OR ON THEIR GOLF COURSES OR IN THEIR SWIMMING POOLS. The laws will face federal opposition, but it's going to be hard to put them back on the endangered species list, and without that protection, the federal government is rather limited in its ability to prevent state action in things like this.

5) Once the laws are changed, cities will become majorly aggressive in alligator control. They'll kill a lot of the adults; they will search and wipe out nests. it won't just be Disney, it will be Orlando, Winter park, Lakeland, Eustis -- any and every city in Florida will aggressively attack the perceived problem. most will leave some degree of refuge, but for the most park cities will want to eradicate the nuisance whenever and where ever they can. So will individual homeowner associations and developers. Because the people who live there (see yelling above).

I don't think anything will happen in the Glades, or in rural areas of Florida. I think you might still see some migration, but the migrating alligators will be dealt with quickly and aggressively. The animals will be seen not as scenery. but as a threat. But it won't be Disney that addresses the issue, it will be the state. And I believe that is coming.

 

[romitaz]

I think we're 5-8 years away from any large assault on the alligator population, but I don't think it will be any longer than that.

1) Florida's legislature has been pretty much perma-reded now. This is not an environmentally friendly group.

2) As the alligator population in suburban and urban Florida increases (or explodes, which it will because there's nothing to limit it) there will be more nuisance calls about them. There may not be many more attacks on people, but there will be more attacks on dogs, on cats, more alligators ending up in places people don't want them to be.

3) This will call for a rewriting of Florida laws when it comes to alligators, and allowing for more aggressive approaches to controlling them. For example, the 4-foot rule is antiquated and won't last much longer, because there's nothing in a suburban Florida lake that can kill a four foot alligator except a larger alligator. All that leaving four footers (or three, or even two) footers alone does is ensure they grow up to be larger alligators.

4) The laws won't face much Floridian opposition, because the people who live there DON'T WANT THEM IN THEIR BACKYARDS, OR EATING THEIR DOGS, OR ON THEIR GOLF COURSES OR IN THEIR SWIMMING POOLS. The laws will face federal opposition, but it's going to be hard to put them back on the endangered species list, and without that protection, the federal government is rather limited in its ability to prevent state action in things like this.

5) Once the laws are changed, cities will become majorly aggressive in alligator control. They'll kill a lot of the adults; they will search and wipe out nests. it won't just be Disney, it will be Orlando, Winter park, Lakeland, Eustis -- any and every city in Florida will aggressively attack the perceived problem. most will leave some degree of refuge, but for the most park cities will want to eradicate the nuisance whenever and where ever they can. So will individual homeowner associations and developers. Because the people who live there (see yelling above).

I don't think anything will happen in the Glades, or in rural areas of Florida. I think you might still see some migration, but the migrating alligators will be dealt with quickly and aggressively. The animals will be seen not as scenery. but as a threat. But it won't be Disney that addresses the issue, it will be the state. And I believe that is coming.

Or , way more likely, your irrational fear of alligators is severely clouding your judgement and you will be 100% wrong.

I'll take option B thanks.

 

[rteetz]

Lets all be nice please. The topic of discussion of this thread was the possibility of two gators being there during the attack. If we could stick to that topic that would be great. Thank you.

 

[whiporee]

Or , way more likely, your irrational fear of alligators is severely clouding your judgement and you will be 100% wrong.

I'll take option B thanks.

I don't know why it's irrational to fear a species that just recently pulled a toddler off a beach at a theme-park resort. But mileage may vary.

I also don't know why what Floridians do with alligators matters to you. If on a state level we decided they are a problem, that seems to be our business.* After all, I'm all for protecting snail darters, but I'm not a farmer in California. I like the bears who live around my ranch here in Colorado, but it's not cool when they break into a car to get a bag of Cheetos someone left behind. I like wolves, but I'm not a Wyoming cattleman who loses livestock to them. I do think some consideration ought to be paid to the people who are directly affected by these things, whether the rest of the country considers their complaints irrational or not.

Besides, you've got plenty of alligators in Louisiana to keep you company. Or you can come to Gainesville and visit the only ones I'm fond of, sometime around October 8.

But as to your response to my prediction, you could be right and I could be wrong. I often am.

*in case anyone is confused, I grew up in Orlando and bought a house there a couple of weeks ago. But I live in Colorado.

 

[kbelle8995]

Here's the thing. The Gators are supposed to be here and once the remembrance of how endangered they used to be I think that hunting of gators will return. (It might already have, you can get alot more cooked gator on menus in Florida than you used to) I'm hoping that if there's a species that Florida chooses to go after, it's the evasive and frankly environment wreaking Burmese Pythons and other snakes that are not supposed to be here. And are killing rare animal species that Floridians are trying to keep alive. There is also a python vs gators thing going on the Everglades that I won't go into here.

This is a great tragedy what happens to this little boy. Hopefully Disney will be more proactive about warning guests excersizing caution near our "natural" waters and patroling the waters more actively. But at the end of the days the alligators can get anywhere and Disney can only do so much. Please keep an eye on your kids and your pets while in my beautiful state.

Please do not be offended by my post. I don't blame the parents of this child for horrible incident nor am I treating the incident lightly.

 

[romitaz]

Warning signs have popped up all over the South. Even in places that have never had an attack. We now see signs at everything from a river boat launch to where Boudreaux parks his pirogue in the back bayou. One thing this has done has seriously heightened awareness. Now, let's see if they do any good. We are still talking about some folks that lack the sense that God gave a chicken.

Whiporee, I know of one gator that I won't mind WHEN he falls by the wayside on October 8th.

Back to the subject at hand. I honestly believe that whether it was one or two gators(I'm still having a hard time believing this) is a red herring.

 

[whiporee]

Whiporee, I know of one gator that I won't mind WHEN he falls by the wayside on October 8th.

Just one? I'd have thought you'd be gunning for all 91,000 of us

I honestly believe that whether it was one or two gators(I'm still having a hard time believing this) is a red herring.

So do I. How many is as far from relevant in this as it could be. I think the whole topic of numbers is just lawyering, trying to make WDW more negligent in a situation where (according the lawyer a few pages back) no negligence exists.

 

[kreckl]

Back to the original post, I had immediately wondered how the Dad had gotten bitten if his child was being taken. Not to be too graphic, but it didn't make sense because wouldn't the gator have to open its mouth again to bite again- thus freeing the child? Two gators would explain that.