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.
Chuck Norcutt
On 4/4/2015 12:30 PM, Bob Whitmire wrote:
Just goes to show that where you are, humans are not necessarily at
the top of the food chain. At least not all of them. Keep a weather
eye on the grandkids.
--Bob Whitmire Certified Neanderthal
On Apr 1, 2015, at 8:51 PM, Chuck Norcutt
<chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
We have a small pond behind our house which, due to the
construction of other new houses around it is pretty muddy. I had
considered it likely devoid of much life... until the weather
started warming up. Peepers had been peeping for months but when
the temperature rose last week, as the night fell, the little guys
were joined by a chorus of bull frogs from the pond and followed by
daytime visits of geese, ducks, herons large and small and even a
stork.
Yesterday I spotted a familiar dark object laying low on the water
and another resting on the bank at the end of the pond. Further
investigation led me to go grab the E-M1 outfitted with the 75-300
and a monopod.
This is what I finally shot from about 10 feet at 300mm. He
wouldn't let me get any closer than that. He looks large but he's
only about 4 feet long. You can tell he's young from the yellowish
marks on his skin. He'll be all black as he get older. His buddy
was playing shy somewhere and I estimate him at about 5 feet.
<http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=16857>
This little guy demonstrated some interesting behavior. At first
he skedaddled when I got about 30 feet away. But he didn't go very
far. I approached him again and got to within about 20 feet. That
time he made himself scarce for a while. I walked to the other end
of the pond and started looking for the other one. Then I got
distracted wondering if there might be any snakes in a large pile
of (warm) stones designed as a spillway should the pond overflow.
After a short time I looked up and saw the little guy swimming
directly at me from some distance away and he then made a 90 degree
turn and approached the bank of the pond that's near my house. I
slowly worked my way over there stopping every now and then to take
an ever closer shot. I finally got the one at the link from about
10 feet away. When I tried to get even closer still he decided the
game was over and dove under and away as fast as his tail would
take him.
I saw him and his buddy both again today but didn't have time to go
check them out. I hope to play the game again soon to see how
close he'll let me approach.
There are also lots of turtles in the 8-12" diameter range. They
like to sun themselves on a small concrete culvert that empties
into the pond. They're much more afraid of me than the gators are.
The turtles skedaddle as soon as they spot me moving toward them.
It's been hard to get a good closeup shot even at 600mm
equivalent.
--
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