Originally Posted By kennect I was at AK last week and had my first veiwing of gator's in the wild at WDW...There were three or four people looking over the bridge near the Asia section...Of course curiosity got the best of me and I had to look also....Well, I saw two gator's and a rather large turtle all at one time...All three seemed to be headed in different directions not caring about each other...I will have to post the pic I got of them later...I am just curious as to how long they will let roam there before removing them...I would guess the one closet to the bridge was about four feet in length...The other I couldn't tell but they seemed to be having a good time minding their own business as they went their way....
Originally Posted By Disneymom443 That would just be creepy to see them. You know not in a caged pen. Well they seemed not to really care about what was going on around them.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I don't mind the gators. It's the snakes that might be on property that worry me. I find I don't sit in the bathroom for long at WDW. Am I paranoid...well we are still in swamp land.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORGOCH: Why, Heck!! One day I saw a gator just treadin' water underneath one a them board walks in Frontierland at Tragic Kingdom one day. Ain't nothin' new t'all!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Nothing new ... gators were there long before DAK ... and all of WDW. They only become a problem when IDIOT tourists decide to toss turkey legs, churros and pizza to them and they begin to associate people with food and lose their natural fear. Then they usually wind up as meat and designer boots ... the gators, not the tourists, sadly.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORGOCH: I's right there with ya, Spirit, ducklin'! Matter a fact, I been thinkin' 'bout puttin' a whammy on some a them dang pests that goes 'n hurts my gator friends!!!
Originally Posted By Indigo So I was at DAK last Friday and saw this same gator and turtle. I also so guests feeding them. Anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with guests who do that? Also this gator was well over 4 ft in length. I understood that Disney tries to capture and relocated gators over 4 ft in length. Should I report the gator if I see it and to whom?
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORGOCH: Heck! Why not toss the dang goomers inta the water ta git 'emselves ate up, too? Solves both problems in one quick bite, don'tcha think?
Originally Posted By kennect Spirit, I am not the least surprised other than by my chance encounter in seeing some....I am from Florida and am fully aware of all of the creepy crawly things that are there...I hate to think though that people really are so stupid that they would feed them...Something there must be good or they wouldn't be hanging around there for long....Then again on this trip I saw only one person eating a turkey leg in a park...Have taste's changed or was I just not paying attention? Indigo, Any clue as to what type of turtle you saw? I didn't get a pic of it...Even if I had I know nothing about them...I want to say it was rather large compared to what I am use to seeing around here....Every once in a while one will show up in our pond here at home...I have no clue as to how they find it but they do...I got freaked out right before the trip finding a snake at the edge of the pond...Snakes and I don't get along and I mean any type of snake.....
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<So I was at DAK last Friday and saw this same gator and turtle. I also so guests feeding them. Anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with guests who do that?>> Well, you could intervene and explain why they shouldn't do so. But I wouldn't as you'll likely be dealing with idiots to begin with, who could get nasty with you potentially and then wind up with a free magical WDW vacation. I would immediately flag down a CM and ask them to call security. I wouldn't expect a frontline $7 an hr. CM to even understand why it isn't a good idea to feed wildlife. <<Also this gator was well over 4 ft in length. I understood that Disney tries to capture and relocated gators over 4 ft in length. Should I report the gator if I see it and to whom?>> They say they relocate them. But my feeling is they likely relocate them to farms where they are killed for their meat and hides. An alligator that is being fed will return to the same location. They could move it from DAK to the other side of the MK and it would find its way back. Just the nature of the creatures. Security and/or guest relations are the way to go, but I think things are taken more seriously when you demand security take an active role.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<...I hate to think though that people really are so stupid that they would feed them...Something there must be good or they wouldn't be hanging around there for long....>> I've witnessed this behavior countless times as a Floridian. At WDW about two years ago, they had a gator in the canal/pond in front of the Beach Club and idiots would let their brats throw pizza and fries down to it. It was a constant deal for a few weeks and then the gator just disappeared one night. Call me an animal-loving wacko, but I don't believe animals should be slaughtered due to the complete stupidity of humans. <<...I got freaked out right before the trip finding a snake at the edge of the pond...Snakes and I don't get along and I mean any type of snake.....>> Once I was on the beach at the Poly waiting for Wishes and some kids were in the lagoon splashing around. I just had my feet in and all of a sudden something brushed by in the water, I turned and it was a large black (harmless) snake. But water mocassins aren't uncommon in FLA waterways either. And they aren't harmless. That's the price you pay for developing a swamp.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo ^^^^And that's why you will not catch me sailing, water skiing, para sailing or golfing at WDW.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Dave, I'm sure the gators would think you tasted just like chicken.
Originally Posted By kennect Spirit, The largest snake, in the wild, I have ever seen was outside my room at the Doubletree there on hotel blvd at WDW...Apparently a harmless racer but still it was was very large and crossed our path right as we were walking into the lobby...As normal I flipped out worse than the snake did....
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 As a kid, we had a coral snake wander into our pool. They are very dangerous ... I am now extra cautious about going into water without checking things out first.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I used to be fine with snakes, but ever since I was bitten by a rattle snake fishing up in the Sierra Nevada's, I can't even look at a picture of them. TomeFla,is nasty - snakes, flying cockroaches, hurricanes. No offence Floridians, but if it wasn't for WDW, I would probably pass. I'm not kidding, I get a really bad stomach when there due to my irrational fears of snakes. I've been in the wilds of Mexico, Egypt, Dubai and Oman,and India - you'd think I'd get over it. One of the reasons I still live in the UK, is snakes are very rare here.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<TomeFla,is nasty - snakes, flying cockroaches, hurricanes. No offence Floridians, but if it wasn't for WDW, I would probably pass.>> You forgot fire ants, crocodiles (that sometimes swim up on the beaches), sharks, man-o-wars, love bugs, piranhas and my personal fave -- pythons that explode after swallowing gators! We are paradise. Suckers!
Originally Posted By kennect When I was born my father was a manager for the JCPenney store downtown Daytona...They use to find gators in the alley behind the store on a regular basis so the stories go...I was a little too young to remember such...But I was old enough to remember moving to Tallahasee...Snakes there seemed to be the bigger problem....And not the nice type....
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Tally is such a scary place. The capital of Florida, but it may as well be in Georgia or Alabama ... and all that garnet and gold ... oy vey!
Originally Posted By kennect Spirit after Florida we went to Alabama...Trust me it isn'the same at all...Tallahassee is like a dream by comparision...
