BS: Forget the dog get a Gator

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: Iains
Date: 20 Apr 19 - 04:45 AM

The stoat won hands down. The jack russel retired in humiliation and shock! But it is a slow learner. Despite many encounters it just does not understand that when a sheep with lambs stamps its feet a painful encounter may well quickly follow.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: Bill D
Date: 19 Apr 19 - 03:35 PM

“I give you now Professor Twist
The conscientious scientist.
Trustees exclaimed, “He never bungles”
And sent him off to distant jungles.
Camped on a tropic riverside
One day he missed his lovely bride.
She had, the guide informed him later,
Been eaten by an alligator.
Professor Twist could not but smile.
You mean,” he said “a crocodile.!”

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: keberoxu
Date: 19 Apr 19 - 01:30 PM

... but which bit which?

Or is it a draw -- the two of them biting each other?

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: Iains
Date: 19 Apr 19 - 12:58 PM

My son's jack russel had a stoat attached to his lower jaw a couple of days ago. Never heard a dog squeal so much!

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: keberoxu
Date: 19 Apr 19 - 11:32 AM

Sounds like a smackdown between two types of terriers.
The terriers that are not pit-bulls
are just as formidable in the jaw department.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: robomatic
Date: 18 Apr 19 - 10:10 PM

There was this little old guy who took his pet on a leash to the dog park. A young thug with his pit bull made fun of the little old man's pet: "What the hell is that thing? It's the ugliest dog I ever seen. You better get it out of here fast, old man, or I'll sic my fighting dog on him...." When he found the old man unresponsive he indeed did sic his pit bull 'Winner' on the ugly barely crawling pet. Which proceeded to get a grip on 'Winner' and pretty much tear him apart.

The thug collected his dog's remains and demanded: "What the hell kind of breed you got there, old fella?"

To which the little old man replied: "Before he got his nose fixed, he was a alligatuh"

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: Jack Campin
Date: 18 Apr 19 - 06:54 PM

Meanwhile in Yorkshire...

get a pondful of piranhas

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: Mrrzy
Date: 18 Apr 19 - 05:10 PM

One says See you later, the other In a while?

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: keberoxu
Date: 18 Apr 19 - 01:02 PM

From Florida to Mississippi.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: leeneia
Date: 17 Apr 19 - 02:01 AM

from the link to the Australian publication:

"If camping at a site for a long time don’t form a pattern with your near-the-water activities. If you fish or take water from the river, don’t always do it at the same place at the same time. A crocodile can learn your pattern and arrange to “meet you” after figuring out where and when to next find you near the water’s edge."

That gives me the creeps. Clearly, it is pointless to debate which is more dangerous, crocs or gators. Avoid them all.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: robomatic
Date: 16 Apr 19 - 09:46 PM

Alligators are better looking and less aggressive than Nile crocs or Aussie 'salties'.

America wins again.

But don't take them for granted or feed them or put your head in their jaws to prove the first sentence. That's just stoop'id.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Apr 19 - 08:31 PM

I remember posting to this thread ...

Hungry And Horny Alligators

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: GUEST,#
Date: 11 Dec 15 - 02:38 PM

I still ain't going into salt water. Just sayin'.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: GUEST,#
Date: 11 Dec 15 - 02:11 PM

No apology needed. It was a funny confluence of events. I just read the article which can be got at with a Google of

Don't Fear the Fins - Naples Daily News

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gillymor
Date: 11 Dec 15 - 02:03 PM

And Dan, however much he wants to.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gillymor
Date: 11 Dec 15 - 01:59 PM

I didn't test the link, apologies.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: olddude
Date: 11 Dec 15 - 01:03 PM

How much bull does a bull shark shark Lol

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: GUEST,#
Date: 11 Dec 15 - 12:30 PM

I got a redirect from the link you posted and it's great. Belly laugh for the day, many thanks :-)

http://www.naplesnews.com/error/?requestedUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.naplesnews.com%2Fsports%2Fdont-fear-the-fins-despite-increased-en

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gillymor
Date: 11 Dec 15 - 11:50 AM

I found this article interesting from my adopted hometown newspaper regarding sharks in SWFL, with some stats on shark attacks at the end.
The picture from a cam attached to a Bull shark was taken at my favorite put-in spot for fishing Estero Bay, Little Carlos Pass.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: olddude
Date: 11 Dec 15 - 11:13 AM

I did get a kick out of the iguanas running around. At the hotel they feed them and my little grandson and I got a kick out of a big iguana orange in color would come over and beg like a dog. These guys although wild were harmless and loved people. They eat fruit I guess

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 11 Dec 15 - 10:41 AM

I'm beginning to understand why, when I go to south Florida, I don't see many people actually swimming.

That poor, stupid burglar. Even if he was a jerk, what a terrible way to die.
===============
A few years ago, the DH and I rented a houseboat on the St John's River in NE Florida. My, that was beautiful and peaceful. We loafed, cooked, read books, birdwatched. The fishing was probably good. We didn't swim.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: keberoxu
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 07:14 PM

This reminds me of the actor Billy Bob Thornton ranting about Komodo Dragons. (Where was he going to meet with Komodo Dragons anyhow?)

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: olddude
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 06:07 PM

Wow, don't want to run into one of those either Richard. I think I will stick to fishing here.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 05:52 PM

http://www.divethereef.com/Guides/AboutCrocs.asp

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gillymor
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 05:43 PM

"Chicken of the Sea", LOL.
That's okay though, more room for me and the sharks.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: GUEST,#
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 05:24 PM

I made the mistake of watching Jaws. That was it for me and salt water. I will not willingly enter any water that has fish with lots of teeth and triangular fins. However, thank you for your informed post. You can refer to me as Chicken of the Sea, because as far as I ken that's how the sharks think of me :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gillymor
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 05:15 PM

#, shark populations in the Keys have been in steady decline for a long time, so much so you that it's hard to think of the region as shark-infested anymore. There are catch and release regulations on many species now.
I go camping in the state parks down there about twice a year and see plenty of 2-3' Lemon sharks and some larger Nurse sharks prowling the flats where I fish, neither of which is a threat to man. On rare occasions I'll see a large Bull shark or a Black tip come rocketing up out of a deep channel adjacent to a flat chasing a school of fish but they turn right around and head back to the depths. I always keep a fresh change of undershorts in my dry bag for such moments.
Lemon sharks can be a godsend when bonefish are being difficult as they are easy to hook and almost as fast as bones.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: olddude
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 04:26 PM

Lol don't swim with steak

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: GUEST,#
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 04:15 PM

"Probably a wise decision, I don't swim in those waters at night."

But in the day's ok? What do you use, a shark cage?

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gillymor
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 03:31 PM

Probably a wise decision, I don't swim in those waters at night.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: olddude
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 03:20 PM

Could be, I decided not to Wade in the water to peek at him. He was big and very fast chasing something. Had to be five feet at least

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gillymor
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 02:20 PM

Some of those Keys sharks are nocturnal feeders and roam the flats at night.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: olddude
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 02:11 PM

This bugger had to be five feet long

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gillymor
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 01:48 PM

"Square Groupers" are a local nickname for marijuana bales but Gag Grouper do come up into shallow water flats and are shaped kind of like bass and they grow much larger than freshwater largemouths.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: olddude
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 01:32 PM

Ahh shaped like a bass, yup grouper didn't think of that, big bugger though

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gillymor
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 01:05 PM

I don't know, Dan, coulda been Nessie taking a break from the cruel Scottish winter, a pilot whale, bottlenose dolphin, they get pretty big, a manatee, an actual sub offloading "square groupers".

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: olddude
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 12:57 PM

Hey gilly, at night last week on the Gulf side of key Largo something swam in near the shore. That thing looked like a sub. What do you think. Dang bit.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gnu
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 12:22 PM

Good one, Lefty.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gillymor
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 10:48 AM

Florida Fish and Wildlife commission on American Crocs.Click here.
Either way, I won't be willingly going swimming with crocs or gators anytime soon.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 10:36 AM

When I think about it, I guess I've heard (or read) everything. Some of these things were written by park rangers for Everglades visitors.

1. Alligators are afraid of adult humans and won't attack them. Clearly not so.

2. Alligators don't feed in the winter. I quoted that at a bird-watching site during the winter, and a man turned to me and said, "I saw one eat a turtle last week."

3. Alligators are fiercer than crocodiles.

4. Crocodiles are fiercer than alligators.

5. About that "wide berth" - we were rowing a small boat on an Everglades trail when a big alligator came within a few feet. Maybe it was curious.

6. I'll remember that about the black and yellow babies. That's a vivid image - thanks.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gillymor
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 10:33 AM

Uh, don't zig-zag

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gillymor
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 10:06 AM

They are said to be able to outrun a human on dry land but only when going in a straight line so you should zig-zag if one ever gets after you, Dan. (you might want to research this before engaging a gator in a foot race).
Cool link,B-d-e. I've been canoeing and yakking in Florida, north and south and on both coasts on a regular basis for over 25 years now and I've never been approached aggressively by a gator. I'm not sure what the incident I recounted above was about. They do tend to show interest when you have a splashing fish on your line but generally they give you a pretty wide berth when you're on the water however they also should avoided as big nesting females can be very aggressive and if you happen upon some small black and yellow-spotted babies it's wise to vacate the area immediately.
I love the Space Coast. There is a shallow water, no-motor section of the Bananna River just south of Cape Canveral where I've take some enormous Redfish in just a few feet of water.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: frogprince
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 09:54 AM

Interestin' to see the conflicting takes on gator vs. croc. We were in N'owlins a few years ago, and took a boat ride in the swamp (not a "swamp boat" a few miles out of town. The guide/captain said that gators eat only during a limited temperature range, and aren't apt to bother you unless hungry, whereas a croc would attack just for something to do. Since then, I've always taken any opportunity to pet an alligator.

                   Lefty

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: olddude
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 09:38 AM

Where is the swamp people guys when we need. Those things scare the crap out of me. I heard that for a very short distance they can out run someone who thinks the move slow

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 09:00 AM

I recently visited family in the Spacecoast region of Florida and we visited the Viera Wetlands. A number of the photos on that page are from "viewfrommykayak.blogspot.com". IMHO, paddling a kayak where there might be gators is one thing, but paddling it where there definitely are gators, and in great abundance, is a different matter all together.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gillymor
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 08:02 AM

I've heard and read just the opposite, leeneia, that American crocs are shy and reclusive and it seems that there has been only one recorded attack on humans in the U.S. as of 2014.Click here. Now, Saltwater and Nile crocs seem to be a different story. I'm glad my wife never saw a pile of crocs, she had nightmares for weeks after seeing the one.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: Stu
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 03:20 AM

I have a friend who studies gator burrows on the barrier islands of Georgia. Suffice to say he always checks to make sure no-one's home...

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 01:41 AM

I've seen crocodiles in the Everglades, too. I have read that they are MORE aggressive than gators. The crocs were sunning themselves in a pile on a concrete dam abutment, and they were either the gray color of the local clay or they were covered with a thin layer of it. They seemed to be made of clay. They didn't look real, but their teeth were terrible to see.

We took a canoe out on Florida waters one day, and two times I felt that bump. Now I REALLY wonder what it was.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: LadyJean
Date: 09 Dec 15 - 11:28 PM

A friend traveling in Florida was warned that if they saw an alligator while hiking they should head the other way. The game warden said they hadn't had any gator attacks, except for one fellow who spent an evening with Jack Daniels, and decided it would be fun to wrestle an alligator. It wasn't.

Subject: RE: BS: Forget the dog get a Gator
From: gillymor
Date: 09 Dec 15 - 10:06 PM

Kayaking thru a narrow stretch on the Estero River here in SWFL a few years back I felt my yak raise up and lurch forward and assumed a manatee had come up underneath me as this had happened to me several times before on previous outings and we had one approach us earlier down the river that day. As the yak settled down in the water I looked over the side and saw a huge gator tail swishing away from me and at that point I must have set an unofficial world record for the 50 yd. kayak dash. Gator attacks in Florida are a pretty rare occurrence though occasionally you'll here about one snatching a dog by a canal but generally they keep their distance when your out on the water.

There is a very small population of American crocodiles in Florida, mostly residing in the south but they're said to be less aggressive than American gators. I had the good fortune of seeing one sunning itself, jaws agape while kayaking in Everglades National Park near Flamingo some time ago. I don't think my wife slept too well in our tent that night.