What Would You Do

[Guest]

YC clearly has nerves of steel, and perhaps a constitution to match; I'd have a difficult time controlling mine. But, without a retreat easily available to me, I'd choose to keep as much distance between my scaly friend and me. I'd far rather see it sun bathing on a log, than wondering where it'd got to underwater. A quiet scrape over or through the furthest floating log would be my route; and with one eye on my friend from over my shoulder as I gingerly escaped, I'd have some bailing to do.

 

[snapper]

YC - Thanks for letting me know where you ran into that gator. A couple of years ago I was there was a momma gator who kept her babies around a lot longer than usual. Every time someone paddled the runs between Floyd's Island and Round Top they would run into her and she was rarely pleased about it. I don't know if you've ever met Chip & Joy Campbell who operate Okefenokee Adventures out of the eastern entrance but Chip was raised in the swamps. He was leading a trip out to Round Top during this time frame and he told me the gator would make a beeline to canoes entering "her" area. He ended up having to push her away with his push-pole on a couple of trips out there. Since where he ran into her is about where my experience took place, and since gators can live to be a ripe old age, my guess is we ran into the same animal but before she became aggressive.

Oldie Moldie - The US Fish & Wildlife's position is that the refuge is for the animals. Humans are the intruders so they manage for the critters. At least this was their position as it was explained to me. I'm not sure what they'd actually do if a gator did attack someone as far as removing it, moving it deeper into the swamp, etc.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...Be well.

snapper

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Now let's hear some of your decision points.

Aside from what you've written, I don't know enough about gators to make "decisions". Anything I would do would be "experiments".

When any of our local reptiles is encroaching on my path and reluctant to move, I usually annoy it with my walking stick until it leaves in a huff. I'm thinking the gator would require a much longer stick. Maybe a good reason to carry a slingshot and a few pebbles?

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Hah! I just paged back and read OM's suggestion of the slingshot. Great minds think alike....or - like minds think they're great. Something like that...

......Chip was raised in the swamps. He was leading a trip out to Round Top during this time frame and he told me the gator would make a beeline to canoes entering "her" area. He ended up having to push her away with his push-pole on a couple of trips out there....

SEE?...SEE?...It's always a good idea to have a pole on board!

 

[yellowcanoe]

There is enough downed wood in the swamp to supply poles as needed. It's a fire driven ecosystem also shaped by wind. Poking a gator didn't seem a good idea.

 

[Cronje]

I like the sling shot and the pole idea. Maybe both. Over half of the time I with one or more of my granddaughters ages 9, 7 and 1 1/2 years old. Last Sunday Macyn my seven year old granddaughter paddled a 15ft Thompson Featherweight across a small lake and up a small stream that was about 20 feet wide. A half a mile up the stream we got out on a blanket and had lunch in the shade as it was about 83 degree f. On the way back to the takeout Macyn said we did not even see one gator so I turned toward a little bayou on the other side of the lake. When we rounded the rookery I asked her to be quiet and we might see one on the beach but someone had left something large on the beach. When we were about 35 feet away the large object stood up. The gator was 12/13 ft long but it was his thickness that was impressive. When standing it was 3 tall and we were in less than 2 feet of water. Most of the water way into the pool was about 12 feet wide and 1 foot deep. I knew it could not go under the canoe. He quickly ran
to the middle of the waterway while I back out to give him room. He wait until I was out of the way then he went to the deep water.

 

[Seeker]

I'm told on good authority (friend who grew up in the swamps of LA) that they will move, regardless of temp, when you get close enough... I'd have edged up until he moved. He got up on that log while "cold"... he can get down while still not completely warm.

 

[Guest]

I would probably have tried more or less what Kim did, bump the obstruction log as far from the gator as I could and see if that was sufficient to disturb his repose.

I'm told on good authority (friend who grew up in the swamps of LA) that they will move, regardless of temp, when you get close enough

I can tell you on good authority that they WILL move if you tap them with the bow of an overloaded Grumman.

I was paddling in the Loxahatchie Nat’l Wildlife Refuge with three young ladies on a birding trip many years ago. Very exciting; our first time birding in Florida. Made even more exciting by my passengers, none of whom were paddlers by any stretch.

Huge excitement; they spotted a Purple Gallinule and I slowly paddled the canoe into the marsh grass.

The excitement peaked when I tapped a large gator with the bow. The young lady in the bow, who had been binocular-intent on the bird, was a quiet and well spoken lass. When the gator started thrashing and splashing to get away she suddenly bellowed “F@#$ THE BIRD, F@#$ THE BIRD!”

That wasn’t helpful. I was laughing so hard at her newfound ability to curse like a sailor that I couldn’t back paddle us out of the grass.

 

[Cronje]

Mike, I think I have finally figured out what LMAO means.

 

[Guest]

Wild vs habituated gators

Wild vs habituated gators

I’m no authority on gators, but from what I’ve seen and experienced I’d be far more leery of gators that are accustomed to humans. The water hazard on the 9[SUP]th[/SUP] hole is a bad place to go after a mishit ball.

Gators in less visited waters will often slip into the water at first sight, ones that are used to seeing non-threatening boats go by just sit there with the evil eye.

I’ve only seen one aggressive gator. I-75 across the Paynes Prairie Preserve was once THE tourist gator pullover. People would pull over, walk 20 feet to the edge of the berm look down. Lined up snout first like a used car lot were gators aplenty.

Gators aplenty lined up waiting to be fed. Or at least have foodstuffs thrown at them. We had pulled over one time to watch the gators, and the tourists. The folks 30 feet down from us did not have any gator treats, so they were throwing highway trash and gravel to/at them.

A particularly large gator took offense, began hissing and snapping, and when they found that amusing suddenly the gator launched himself up the berm at them. Everyone within 50 yards, including us, bolted for their cars. They have since fenced the highway along Paynes Prairie; someone or their little dog probably got ‘et.

I have heard one first-hand story of a gator that came up on a chickee. A paddler was fishing off the platform, and doing well and a gator took interest in the fish he was reeling in.

The angler won the first few rounds when the gator got pissed and lunged up onto the chickee. The hastily retreating fisherman fell over backwards and one of his companions came to the rescue, thumping the gator with a paddle until he could push it off the chickee.

The gator stuck around, and I’m given to understand that leaning off the chickee to load the kayak hatches the next morning was performed under gator glare.

I treat alligators like I treat venomous snakes, wasp nests and irate landowners; try to keep my distance, don’t disturb them, get gone.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Gators will hiss and snap in March. So would you if someone interrupted you and your SO in your bedroom

 

[snapper]

YC - Just back from our trip to the swamp and we had a bit of an "incident" while there. I don't know if you're familiar with a gator that was called One Eyed Jack but he typically hung out in the canal near Coffee Bay. He was blinded in one eye many years ago and began to have problems finding food. Unfortunately for him, folks began feeding him and he became more and more accustomed to free handouts. I've dealt with him over the past few years and had never had a problem until this year. We arrived at the area and he was very aggressive right from the start. As we unloaded gear on the dock he slipped under my canoe and pushed his snout up onto the dock area, rooting around in our food bags, etc. until we could get them out of there. Eventually he realized we weren't going to give him anything. It wasn't long after that that he charged up the bank at a student and me while we were moving a canoe. He stopped just 6' short of us, opened his mouth and hissed like crazy. Since we saw how easily he was able to get on the bank, we knew he'd have no problem coming up to our tents, etc. so we just loaded our canoes and paddled back to Suwannee Canal. I reported the incident to the powers-that-be and was asked to come to the headquarters the next morning; which I did. It was the day after that I was told some refuge staff members went in and literally took him out. While I have mixed feelings about the whole incident, I do feel his death was a bit of a mercy killing but I can't help feeling angry at all the folks who fed him over the years, setting him up for this in the end.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...Be well.

snapper