General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Last year, this man specifically warned Disney about alligators after his son [View all]NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)Overall, they are correct, gators don't attack people often.
1) Gators are often more of a threat at places like this, not less of a threat. No matter how hard they try to monitor it people vacationing will feed the gators. They become use to people feeding them. When they get use to it and see someone walking up to the water they swim over looking for their treat. That means at best you now have a gator next to someone with food on its mind. Worst, they take a bite.
2) A large portion of a gators food in Florida comes from picking small animals off the bank while they are drinking water or eating. It is the perfect scene. We have all seen how a large gator can lay in wait in shallow water near the bank. Those who are either short like a child or kneeling over look just like their food source on the bank.
3) For the most part, March, April, May and June are gator mating season. It fluctuates a little dependent on how we come out of the winter and other factors. They can get extremely nasty during these months. We cannot expect our out of state friends to know this. You have seen little as nasty as an alligator during the height of mating season. Most Floridians immediately recognize the "grunt" noise they make during this time. It is a sure sign to stay away.
Disney seems to need to get their head out of their ass on this one. These lakes should be clearly marked. That need is elevated considering one of their goals is to bring consumers in from out of state. I deal with a lot of people from up north who have never spent time in the south and they are, for the most part, completely uneducated about alligators. Makes sense. Disney has a responsibility to protect them within reason. Proper signage is clearly within reason.
I have swam in plenty of lakes with large populations of alligators. I have often positioned myself to get very close camera shots of large gators. I find them to be beautiful. I would never do any of those things during this time of year. The people there should be given warning. So many we attract to the Kissimmee area are not from Florida.