For the brave.

[Kurt]

https://share.newsbreak.com/6s0uf44z

Back in the day it was filet and release.

[Paulf]

Florida has been encroaching on a lot of the wildlife habitat for may years. As the population of humans increases, wildlife homes are diminished. The animals are spilling over into the newly built human areas that used to be theirs. Not only are the gators confused, so are many other species. My family is also part of the blame because we are some of the folks with a home in Florida where there was none a few years ago. The "pet" alligator living in the pond on the 5th fairway that our house is next to has been missing since the last time we were there. Hopefully Florida can find ways to share the spaces.

Here in Nebraska where we live most of the time the same is happening in the urban areas with coyotes, deer, bobcats and many other species. We are in an extremely rural area and all the wildlife that is native just wanders in and out of the yard as normal since we have shared the same space since our house was built in the 1850s. I really dislike it that Nebraska has issued a hunting season on mountain lions. Is that sort of like the season on alligators?

So what is my point? Not really sure; just rambling I guess. I loved seeing the gator in the pond...he didn't bother anyone. And I don't mind it when the bobcats and foxes roam around killing rabbits. If we had a cougar that would be amazing. Just keep the rabbits out of my garden.

[karstopography]

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state ... s-by-state

According to the link, Florida has an estimated 1,300,000 gators and ranks second behind Louisiana’s 2,000,000 alligators. Texas is a distant third with 400,000.

We get alligators in our lake from time to time. They wander in overland from other nearby more wild lakes and bayous. One of the residents here is a paid professional remover of nuisance alligators. Alligators are big time and extremely accomplished hunters of family pet dogs and cats, that’s why they get removed from our particular lake. Want to lose a pet dog or cat in a hurry, just get an alligator or some coyotes. Alligators get any pets that wander close to the water and without fail get any dogs that go for a swim.

No interest in harvesting alligators for myself. I’ve eaten alligator a few times. I might eat it more if there weren’t other more traditional or conventional options.

I think alligators are neat and I’m glad they have rebounded from near extinction levels sixty years ago here in Texas. A lot of stock ponds in Texas end up with alligators. Nearby Brazos Bend State Park is an alligator paradise and the best local spot for seeing a whole lot of alligators being wild and doing wild things up close. Some of the places I kayak have alligators, the most notorious is Salt Bayou in the BNWR. I won’t paddle up Salt Bayou in nesting season because I value my kayak and my life.

[Cole_Robbie]

Me kayaking by myself in the Hillsborough river north of Tampa:

"Wow look at all the turtles sitting on that big tree that fell into the water. And the tree seems ridged on the back....ahhhhhh sh*t!!! That's not a tree!!!!!"

[Cole_Robbie]

I saw a black bear yesterday morning. Apparently they do like honey, just like in the cartoons. The neighbors horse was huffing and puffing, and I saw the bear running away. I've never seen anything that big run that fast.

[karstopography]

I saw a black bear yesterday morning. Apparently they do like honey, just like in the cartoons. The neighbors horse was huffing and puffing, and I saw the bear running away. I've never seen anything that big run that fast.

Yes, bears are crazy fast, I have experienced this myself and thankfully the bear was heading the other way.

[Cole_Robbie]

My neighbor, about a mile or so away, tied his dog to a tree yesterday in the morning when he left for work and came home to find the dog deceased and mauled in a way that has to be from a bear or mountain lion, we're thinking the latter.

[Tormato]

I saw a black bear yesterday morning. Apparently they do like honey, just like in the cartoons. The neighbors horse was huffing and puffing, and I saw the bear running away. I've never seen anything that big run that fast.

A momma black bear and two cubs came through my neighborhood the other day, ripping through one person's trash cans. This is the first time, here, for cubs. Previously, I've only seen cubs several miles out, in the wilderness.

That is not a good sign, as it looks like momma is teaching them to forage through people's trash. Soon the cubs will leave momma and the area, and likely be a residential headache in some other town.

[JRinPA]

I really hate to hear that someone would tie their dog out and leave...I won't even do that here in town, when the only thing that might happen is another stray dog.

I guess in PA that probably illegal by now and would result in fines or charges if you left your dog tied out and it got mauled.

[Kurt]

Update for the brave.
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news ... 879039007/

[JRinPA]

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I never had an urge to go down to hunt or shoot a gator. Really I never had an urge to trophy hunt anything. My dad got himself a pronghorn in Wyoming, pretty nice one. I they got some mule deer too. That was all freelance, late 70s or so, shot the pronghorn with his model 88 in .308, 260yds I think he said? They weren't real accurate, terrible triggers on 88s. Said it tasted like leather. But I never into the idea of hunting bears. Maybe if I lived up in the mountains I'd have the urge to do it. Or traveling to hunt a moose, or elk, or caribou, like some do.

But if lived down there on the gulf coast, and they were in the backyard, probably, maybe, gators are something I'd pursue, assuming they are good enough to eat. There were years I trapped a lot snapper turtles for meat, freeze the meat in 2lb packs, really excellent soup from them, but that is a lot of work cleaning them unless you have some kind of industrial tools. But cleaning them the real way with just a beaver skinner, lot of work. Every year I say I will trap some more, and never seem to do it. Too many easier things to eat, like said, but I do miss that soup.

Has it really been 8 years since that kid got killed at Disney World? I would have said 4 or 5.

[Kurt]

Update on the gators.Here we have more awareness.
https://share.newsbreak.com/74bsy65o