Gator deaths rise to three

[Scurrilous]

In what are expected to be recorded as the 19th and 20th fatal alligator attacks in Florida in almost 60 years, authorities announced that two women had been killed

<snip>

"Two more women were killed by alligators in Florida over the weekend, bringing to three the number of fatal gator encounters in less than a week.

When combined with the death of a young college student from Davie killed by a 400-pound gator last week, the number of fatal gator attacks would rise from the 17 confirmed attacks since 1948 to 20.

And despite the fearsome reputation of sharks, that's far more than the eight fatal shark attacks in Florida since 1948.

The trapper who snagged the 400-pound alligator that killed Yovy Suarez Jimenez of Davie said reports of alligator sightings have been on the rise since her gruesome death last week. It ''has gotten everyone in a panic,'' trapper Kevin Garvey said."


http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/14580528.htm

[TomInTib]

1. And to think we were all worked up about A-H(5)N(1).

It was the alligators the whole time.

They have all the time in the world.

[expatriot]

2. Time for Fox News to create a graphic... Fox News Alert

Florida Under Attack....

[expatriot]

3. IS the upsurge in attacks due to all the fires? Pushing gators into more

populated areas?

[bleedingheart]

4. when my in-laws lived in Florida, it was common to have

gators end up in people's swimming pools...and it was due to the fact that people wanted to live near the inland lakes and build their nice communities...

However those lakes were home to the gators first..

[cobalt1999]

5. Partly.

Remember it is still Spring/Early Summer when the bull gators do most of their wandering "looking for love". This takes them away from their regular holes/food sources. Now that there are more and more people nearby, once they start roaming they are more likely to come in contact. By mid summer they'll all be back in their regular spots and you won't hear anymore until next spring.

[TX-RAT]

6. Could be but, i believe most has to due with ignorance.

When you move in among the Gators, you pressure them into doing things they don't usually do. Interestingly enough, my wife a daughter were just in Tampa, visiting her Mother. Theres a place on a lake where we usually stay while we're there. My wife came back telling story's about how stupid some of the people were. One family was letting their 2 young kids swim in the lake, another was fishing right on the bank, within inches of the water. One guy was throwing sticks out in the water, for his 2 labs to retrieve. I've fished this lake many times, i've personally seen several gators in the 8-10 ft range.

[lpbk2713]

7. That's a tragedy just waiting to happen. And it surely will.

Ignorance plays the biggest part in these attacks. People who live on the water think it's cute to feed the gators. In time the gators lose their innate fear of humans seeing them as a source of food. That's when they get dangerous. The state needs to enforce the laws against feeding gators more vigorously. As noted, this is a bad time of year for aggressive gators as well. The males are on the prowl and the females are particularly dangerous when it comes to protecting their nest.





Not the sort of thing you want to see staring you down.

[raccoon]

8. How does a person defend him/herself against a gator attack? nt

[Scurrilous]

10. Run? n/t

[Lowell]

9. I always loved our alligators

I grew up near a lake full of them. They used to come up the streets every July and August during their mating season and crawl up under our front porch. You simply have to respect them and stay out of their way. They were here long before we came and began encroaching on their territory.

I believe the reason we have been seeing more of them lately is because of the lack of rain. They have been forced into smaller and smaller areas where water if available. Personally I'd like see them quit killing these gators for doing what only comes naturally. If people are so stupid that they can't stay out of their way . . . then I'm sorry, they just deserve to end up lunch.

[bluefish]

12. Maybe the state needs to educate the people

Isn't Florida home to newcomers?

[SteppingRazor]

13. That last sentence made my brain hurt...

Dude, seriously? You want killer alligators to just go free? Come on, now! They don't kill them out of some warped sense of revenge. They kill them because that particular alligator has now realized that human beings are a viable food source. Once an alligator kills one person, the chances of it attacking another person rise dramatically. And you want to just say, "Oh, well, that's all right then"?? You can't be serious... er... can you?

[SteppingRazor]

11. My buddy Bob Norman has figured out why these gators are attacking

http://www.newtimesbpb.com/blogs/?p=84