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I really think you are worrying too much. I lived on James Island for 10 years and have lived on Johns Island for 14 years and have never seen an alligator or a water moccasin except at Charlestowne Landing. I know people who have seen them on the golf courses on Kiawah and in Mt. Pleasant, but of the hundreds of people I know from teaching, church, sports, neighbors, etc. none of them on James Island or Johns Island has had either an alligator or water moccasin in their yard. My best friend's yard backs up to a lake on James Island and they have never seen an alligator there.
I'm not saying throw all caution to the wind, but with you having a privacy fence, you have nothing to worry about. Now, if you were moving to the Everlglades I'd tell you differently.
I've seen them forty yards from our condo in Pawleys Island and on the golf course there. They don't bother you if you don't bother them. They sun themselves in warm weather and hibernate (pretty much) in the cooler weather. They are docile. Of course, we won't let the dog swim in the pond, and we make the kids practice running zig zags (alligators can only run in a straight line).
If you're really worried about wild animals, the safest place to be is downtown or in any other busy commercial area. Wild animals like to avoid people as much as we want to avoid them so the key is to be where there are a lot of people.
I'm with you Wildwoodflower. I'm from Philadelphia where the only predators were in downtown Phille at night. I live on Oakcrest Drive(it connects with Silver Leaf Circle which leads out to Fort Johnson, just 3/10s of a mile off of Folly Rd.)which is a road that sort of resembles a horseshoe that winds around a pond that was created as a run off when new houses in the new section of Oakcrest were built on filled in marshland. That is my understanding, I could be wrong about that.
After recently visiting Hilton Head where I watched an 8 ft alligator sun himself in someone's well used backyard, under the generous host's welcoming lazy Sunday hammock, I began to wonder if there were any on James Island. So I decided to ask my neighbor, who takes it upon himself to maintain and care for this nameless (? help me out here) pond, whether we had any alligators in what I assumed up and until now was just a harmless, cute, and picturesque little pond. As it turns out, we do, according to this wonderful and non-challant volunteer. He casually reported seeing a 2 to 3 ft alligator which he told me is still too small to eat my houdini-style escape cats. Ah, but alligators grow bigger and fiercer and my sweet but clueless babies grow fatter and more complacent. Privacy fences are wonderful things and I really enjoy mine, however, they do nothing to stop my 2 obstinate 4-legged children from skidatelling right on over it and scattering in the direction of this cute little harmless pond. Incidentally, I understand that this pond was autioned off with other parcels of land for $200-$350 to someone who had no clue what he/she was buying and prefers not to maintain it unless he/she is forced to by legal action.
If anyone is familiar with this pond and has any information about alligators taking up residence there, would you kindly fill me in? And, by the way, where do they come from anyway? Do they get tired of their old frothy green pond and just take a short or long hike in the woods or down the street to new waters? I heard that they travel by the sewer? I welcome all input and information that will either help me keep my babies safe or put my nerves to rest so that I can let my now house-bound and very ticked-off babies outside again. I know that to the world they are just cats, but for me...they are my heart.
Peace...
Gratitude...
and Compassion for All That Is...
We are an amazing species. Humans invade a home range of species A., then wonder why "they" are here.
I mean no disrespect in this, but let's consider the facts:
The Charleston area over the past 40 years has seen a 300% increase in H. Sapiens, most of whom occupy former wetlands, or land adjacent to such habitat. Animals (including apex predators like alligators) have evolved over eons, and their behavior patterns are pretty well set. They eat fish, waterfowl, turtles, and ,yes, small mammals- including your terrier Scruffy if given the opportunity.
Are they "aggressive"? Can be.
So can your Aunt Wanda given the right circumstances.
FYI, one of the more interesting studies about gators I've seen showed that ones fed chicken were more active and predatory than ones fed a fish diet.
So, cut down on your runs to KFC or Popeye's for 'em.
As others have said I know of only one (in 56 years) man/gator encounter in the Charleston area. And in that one the human was the aggressor, and the gator was just being a gator.
There was one here in lake Moultrie not too long ago where a guy lost his arm, he wasn't harassing the gator just in the wrong place when a gator was hungry.
Geech, I agree.
Have a large pond behind the house in which a 6 ft gator often visits. Wife freaks out. I don't worry. These prehistoric creatures have lived in most waters of the South long before the first man sized predator decided to claim this as "theirs". Leave them be and they will do the same. Most kids I see these days are trying to taunt the gator minding his own business. I'd take a switch to them, but nowadays, that means overprotective Mommy will file a lawsuit against me and demand DNR remove the "problem animal" instead of putting any blame on Junior, who is often the only real pest on the block.
Geechie, and fqtravlr: I agree with you both on this. They were here first, so it is we who need to learn to co-exist with them.
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Alligators of SC
