Wonder if anyone else saw what I saw

[brerrabbit]

I know people get spooked by these things but I can tell you from a lot of years of experience with them they just want to live their lives and not get in your way. Wildlife has a way of just showing up. Dig a pond and let it fill up with water, soon you have fish in it, then turtles, then if you live in the right area a gator might show up. As we have developed more and more land we have infringed on their teritory. Its not their fault. WDW keeps an eye on these guys and when they get to big they move them, no problem. As far as them comming out of the water and bothering anybody, the chances of that are very small. For the most part they just want to be left alone. The tragedy is when people feed them and try to make them their friends. These guys brains are the size of a peanut and they are just looking for food. Feed them and they loose their fear of you and thats when bad things happen. I hunt and on several occasions have actually stepped on a few gators (it was really cold thank goodness and they were very inactive) while duck hunting. I have also participated in several gator hunts. This was made legal after the effort to get them off the endangered species list worked so well that they needed to open hunting back up to try and control their numbers.

I would not worry about them at WDW, just add it to the list of things you see while there and enjoy it, but don't let it spoil your fun.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

JTA -
There are MANY natural waterways in and around WDW..Alligators are not restricted to just water..they will walk across land to go from a canal to a pond.
If you look in the books about the building of WDW, you can see all the water/swamps that are part of WDW

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

there was one at Coronado Springs when we stayed there. It was VERY real.
I emailed Disney when we got home and asked about it because on my next trip which was really soon, I wanted to know.......and this is what she said: (I deleted her name at the end)

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World® Resort.

It is not our policy to allow any potentially dangerous animals to remain loose on the grounds at
any of our resorts. However, this is Florida. Since a large portion of the 47 square miles of the
Walt Disney World® Resort has been set aside as undeveloped wildlife sanctuary, wild animals do
occasionally wander into the resort guest areas.

If you encounter any while on resort grounds, we ask that you notify the front desk so that they in
turn can notify our Animal Control department to have any potentially dangerous creatures removed
from the premises.

Our Animal Control cast members will assess the situation and determine if the animal in question
needs to be relocated.

If you have questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,