A six footer can be a little worrying, a 9 footer (in the water with
you) is very worrying. Gators can run about 15 miles/hour for a short
distance (cold blooded = no stamina). I don't know how fast they can
swim but I guarantee you that it's much faster than you or me. The
worst part is you have no idea where they are when they're under.
Normally, you don't find gators in salt water but they will put up with
brackish water for a short period. Edisto Island is criss-crossed by
lots of rivers and streams. I suspect the gator just got washed out to
the ocean. It was probably not where he wanted to be.
Incidentally, if the gator was 9 foot it would almost certainly be a
male. 9 foot is not impossible for a female but still quite unusual.
Most of them top out about 8 feet.
I saw gator #2 up quite a bit closer this afternoon. I'm not sure he's
as long as 6 feet but, if not, still very close to it.
Chuck Norcutt
On 4/5/2015 12:34 PM, Bob Whitmire wrote:
Just as long as everyone knows there’s gators around. <g>
We had a close encounter many years ago at Edisto Island. Joan and I were out about belly
deep with No. 1 Son, who was sixish at the time. I saw a piece of driftwood a bit south of us
that appeared to be “drifting” parallel to the shore. We got out of the water,
took a closer look, and saw it was a six-to-nine foot gator. Authorities were called. An
interesting assortment of local folk turned up. The gator was brought to shore, but managed
to give the local lads the slip. One of the locals told me to keep the kid very close, that
gators move fast when motivated. A juicy six-year-old apparently was considered motivation.
--Bob Whitmire
Certified Neanderthal
On Apr 4, 2015, at 1:02 PM, Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
My youngest grandchild is 11 and in no danger from a 4 foot gator. But by the
time these guys reach about 6 feet they could be a threat to a person smaller
than that. They could likely get that big in 2-4 years. Thinking ahead, I
checked SC law this morning regarding removal of nuisance gators and found SC
law is much different from Florida law.
In Florida a nuisance gator must be removed by a licensed trapper. Most folks
think the gator is relocated but that's not true. Florida recruits the
trappers but doesn't pay them anything and their payment is that they get to
keep the gator. That assures that the gator will be killed for its meat and
hide... but out of sight of the homeowner. In Florida, capture is by
non-lethal means.
In SC the homeowner (or homeowner's association if on common property) makes
the decision about whether the gator is a nuisance or not. SC expects you or
your hired trapped to kill them since it considers (like Florida) that
relocation is ineffective. Gators are territorial. If they survive being
placed in a larger gator's territory they will eventually find their way back
to their own.
Most folks get upset when they realize that the gator is a goner if considered
a nuisance gator. But that is the way it works.
--
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