OT - Gators in the house?

[ricki]

In recent weeks we have had fatal gator attacks that are in excess of the frequency of such events in about the last 40 years. Why, who knows? So, what to do if an alligator wants to get up close and personal? Some ideas were tossed out in an article recently:


"ALLIGATOR SAFETY TIPS

Never allow small children or pets near water by themselves.

Do not allow pets to swim, exercise or drink from lakes or canals that may contain alligators. Dogs are highly susceptible to attack since they resemble the natural prey of alligators.

Do not swim outside of posted swimming areas or in waters that might be inhabited by alligators.

Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn. Leave alligators alone. State law prohibits killing, harassing or possession of alligators.

Never feed alligators. When fed, alligators overcome their natural wariness and learn to associate people with food.

At boat ramps and fish camps, dispose of fish in garbage cans. Do not throw them in the water.

Never remove an alligator from its natural habitat or accept one as a pet. They do not become tame in captivity and handling even small ones can result in injury.

Seek immediate medical attention if bitten by an alligator. Bites often result in serious infection."

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Photo and more info can be found at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1775796,00.html

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Gator in the garden? Here is what experts say you should do

By Nicole T. Lesson
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted May 19 2006, 10:40 AM EDT

Kim Deitke doesn't live on the water and a fence surrounds her back yard. So she wasn't prepared for the scaly surprise she found last Memorial Day when she went outside to do some gardening.

A 7-foot alligator was lying on the grass between her garden and swimming pool.

"He took two steps toward me and I ran into the house," said Deitke, who lives in the Chapel Trail neighborhood in Pembroke Pines. "I watched him walk around the yard and the edge of the pool."

The gator was swimming in the pool when a trapper arrived to take him away.

"I never thought in a million years an alligator would be in my back yard," Deitke said.

South Florida residents have to co-exist with nature, especially as the suburbs spread farther west of Interstate 75. Experts say residents need to know what to do and, more importantly, what to avoid, if they see an alligator. With spring and summer approaching, and breeding season starting at the end of the month, alligators are going to be more active and likely to be sighted by residents.

"Just seeing an alligator does not make it dangerous," said Willie Puz, media relations director for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. "They have to come out of the water, as a cold-blooded reptile, to regulate their temperature by basking in the sun. That is what alligators do."

Problems start when people feed them. "They associate people with a handout," Puz said.

If you see an alligator more than 4 feet long that poses a threat to humans or property, call 1-866-392-4286, a statewide, toll-free number launched by the conservation commission last April. Dispatchers will answer questions or possibly send a licensed trapper to catch the gator.

Since coming online in April, the nuisance alligator hotline has received 17,148 calls. The agency removes more than 5,000 nuisance gators each year, most of which are killed and sold for meat and other parts.

Relocation of nuisance alligators is not an option because they are known to return to their capture sites, and reintroducing them into the wild disrupts the social structure of that gator population.

Blair Hayman, a biologist who works for the statewide nuisance alligator program, said dogs are especially at risk for alligator attacks.

"Most bodies of water have alligators or will have them; people should really expect them at some point," Hayman said. "If they do have pets, and you want your dog to be outside, a fence is a good idea."

She urges people to make sure the bottoms of their fences are buried because alligators can crawl underneath or push through, and they can see a family pet through a chain-link fence.

In March 2005, an alligator killed a dog that was running loose near a lake inside the Weston Hills community.

"Gators don't know dogs. They see a small- to medium-sized furry mammal that looks tasty and it brings their radar," said Todd Hardwick, a licensed trapper who owns the Miami-based Pesky Critters, a wildlife nuisance control company.

Small children are also at risk if they play near water, he said. A dog could entice an alligator.

"Dogs can draw a gator over, and if there is a small child it's extremely dangerous," he said. The alligator could confuse the child for the dog.

As of May 2006, more than 340 attacks on humans have been documented in Florida since 1948, resulting in 20 deaths

"If for whatever reason you are in an alligator attack, fight, pound on him, beat him and yell," Hardwick said. "They will let go most of the time."

State law protects alligators from being fed, hurt or taken from their habitat.

Alligators are no longer on the endangered species list, and are now federally classified as "threatened due to similarity of appearance," which provides protection but allows state-approved management and control programs.

Florida lists alligators as a Species of Special Concern and only individuals with proper licenses and permits can legally take alligators.

Trappers, like Hardwick, are especially busy in Weston, Coral Springs, Parkland and Kendall, cities that are close to the Everglades. Because of development, alligators are moving from the west to east, he added.

"You can't create more wetlands, so try to be more aware of surroundings. We are in alligator country," Hardwick said. "We catch alligators in landlocked lakes all the time."

For more information, call the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission at 850-488-4676 or visit www.MyFWC.com/alligator.

Nicole T. Lesson can be reached at nlesson@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7920.

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