One of the locals we talked to said our gator may have been a weakling run off
his territory by a more alpha male. <g>
I wrote a column about it for my newspaper: Nerd Alligator Stalks Edisto Beach.
So much easier to be silly about these things in hindsight.
--Bob Whitmire
Certified Neanderthal
On Apr 5, 2015, at 3:06 PM, Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 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.
--
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