Last year, this man specifically warned Disney about alligators after his son

[Citrus]

160. Gators, Florida. Common Sense

- They climb, they don't crawl. They can also climb a lot of walls ("fence" walls). (Btw, gators walk, they don't crawl.) They'll climb fences to get into backyard pools.

- Gators are shockingly fast on land for 20-30 feet. You cannot outrun a gator if you're within 30-50 feet of it.

- Gators are in nearly every body of water in this state.

- Gators are silent swimmers. They also blend in with our blackwater rivers and lakes and often can't be seen.

- It's illegal to feed them, but idiots do...and sometimes lose their lives because of it.

- NASA has gator-proof fencing around certain areas. It's high and curves outward toward the top. (You can Google something like NASA gator fencing and find pictures.)

- This is mating and nesting season, making gators restless and more hungry.

- Gators are treated like curiosities and commodities here, making humans forget how dangerous they can be in the wild. Even miniature golf courses often have captive baby gators that people can pay to feed from a bamboo pole. These babies come from a variety of captive-gator facilities that need to get rid of their "excess". The shows and displays of gators, "gator wrestling", and other so-called demonstrations are, in fact, cruel and add to the objectification of gators rather than promoting respect.

- Gators aside, no small child should be allowed to be in any water without an adult holding his/her hand. This is simple water safety and common sense. A "No Swimming" sign seems to mean different things to different people. I wouldn't let my child put so much as a toe in water that had a sign forbidding swimming, but I don't think it's completely unreasonable for someone to assume it's the water itself that is unhealthy (bacteria, amoeba, etc.) and that wading is okay.

- Disney has always known about the gators. That manmade "lake" is connected to natural waterways.

- Gators can and do travel great distances and males are territorial, so they're on the move to create their own territories. As their habitat shrinks, the "problem" of gators increases and so we have licensed trappers and hunters because they've bounced back very well from their endangered status.

- The gator is not at fault. That kind of thinking is bizarre.

- There are millions of gators in Florida alone. (They're all over the southeast US.)

- It would be impossible for Disney to kill all the gators on the thousands of acres that comprise their Florida property. (Removing them is a preposterous notion.)

- Disney should've had warning signs up long ago. And by "long ago", I mean from the day they opened in 1971.

- Gators have proliferated dramatically in the last 10 years or so. The reasons are complex and many. I swam in lakes with gators in them when I was a child, but they stayed away from us. We had no fear, but we had respect. They don't like us any more than we like them. But I wouldn't put my toe in any fresh water or brackish water now, except for our many springs. They are losing habitat at a rate that is dangerous to them as well as the environment in general. When wild animals lose habitat, they start to panic. (Wouldn't you?)

- Please don't come to Florida and feed gators, pick sea oats, or throw your trash on our roads and beaches. And do not mess with our manatees in any way! If you come here, don't check your common sense at the state line. Educate yourself a little bit about what you'll find here and treat our home the way you'd want us to treat your home. Seriously...disengage from your phones, tablets, etc., and be present. Reasonable diligence will let you enjoy your visit safely and respectfully. Oh, and yes, we have lots and lots of sharks, too. And snakes and venomous spiders. Our Florida Black Bear is generally timid and shy unless startled or it's a mother with cubs. They, too, are running out of habitat and are seen more frequently in populated areas these days.

- And watch your children! This may be "paradise" but bad shit happens.

(For the record, I oppose hunting and captivity. I'm just stating facts.)