[epliny]

Disney gator attack: 2-year-old boy found dead

I am feeling pretty low right now.

The 2-year-old boy who witnesses said was pulled by an alligator into a lagoon near a Walt Disney World hotel has been found dead by the Orange County dive team, Sheriff Jerry Demings said at a Wednesday news conference.The body of the boy, Lane Graves, was found intact about 1:45 p.m., not far from where the boy was grabbed Tuesday night, Demings said.
He likely drowned, Demings said.
"Of course, the autopsy has to confirm that, but there is likely no question in my mind that the child was drowned by the alligator," Demings said.
Demings said the body was found in murky water perhaps 10 to 15 yards from where the boy was attacked.

Disney gator attack: 2-year-old Nebraska boy found dead - CNN.com

[hotkarl]

Point is, there should be no access to water in Florida theme parks unless it is under strict supervision and control.
It's Florida. There are gators. Everywhere.
I was even a little weary about going to River Country back in the day.
Did staff drag the water every morning for gators?
Who knows.
I loved River Country btw.

[BucFan]

Tough week for the Orange County Sheriff Demmings. Got to be the toughest in his life with the massacre and then this. He's definitely a great American in my book.

[Sweetbottoms]

Originally Posted by hotkarl

Point is, there should be no access to water in Florida theme parks unless it is under strict supervision and control.
It's Florida. There are gators. Everywhere.
I was even a little weary about going to River Country back in the day.
Did staff drag the water every morning for gators?
Who knows.
I loved River Country btw.

They shouldn't have to drag it when the signs clearly state no swimming. That means stay out of the friggin water it's not safe. Even your feet. Do we need to hold everyone's hand in this country? What part of no swimming is hard to understand. I mean I don't go to Africa think it's ok to pet a baby lion just cause I can't see the mom. I'm having a real hard time with pity lately over all this stupidity. Honestly. Just because they're the "happiest place on earth" doesn't mean they control everything down to the weather. Australia had a similar situation a few weeks back and the govt release a statement saying "you can't legislate stupidity... It was avoidable" .. I have to side with that statement on this situation

Oh and they need to stop calling them "beaches" as I've seen in some articles. There are two types of beaches in Florida. Gulf Beaches and Atlantic beaches. Anything else is a lake, lagoon,swamp, spring etc. Anything else harbors predators. I get they call every body of water up north a beach (confused the hell out of me in NH when they said meet at the beach and it was a lake) but this is also not helping. Lakes are not swimable down here , ever.

[hotkarl]

I was referring to River Country when it was open.
Did they check for gators every morning before the park opened?
Do any of the water type parks check daily for gators before letting people in the water?

[epliny]

Originally Posted by Sweetbottoms

Oh and they need to stop calling them "beaches" as I've seen in some articles. There are two types of beaches in Florida. Gulf Beaches and Atlantic beaches. Anything else is a lake, lagoon,swamp, spring etc. Anything else harbors predators. I get they call every body of water up north a beach (confused the hell out of me in NH when they said meet at the beach and it was a lake) but this is also not helping. Lakes are not swimable down here , ever.

I was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale.

Had a rockpit behind our home that we use to swim in.

We all knew of the gator that lived there but we also knew that a gator wont usually attack an object (or person) that is larger than a small animal.

We use to dive into the water, even when the gator was lazing on the bank, right next to where we were swimming.

It would either ignore us or swim away.
(Lots of neighbors dogs went missing though)


Disney hires experts to come in and remove what gators may be in the waters.

Gators migrate all the time and it's nearly impossible to deter them.

I've seen gators climb chain link fences to get to a backyard pool.

Heck, though they prefer fresh water, we had a few on Lauderdale beach (salt water) years ago.

[epliny]

[BucFan]

I just picked up the hobby of kayaking, mostly in saltwater areas, but didn't need to see those pictures. Might put the kayak up on Craigslist now.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by BucFan

I just picked up the hobby of kayaking, mostly in saltwater areas, but didn't need to see those pictures. Might put the kayak up on Craigslist now.

Not sure if that's real and, if it is, where it was taken. The photo of the road sign with all the gators was on Snopes several years ago.

[url=http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=49785]Hikers and bikers, keep right - snopes.com[/url]

There's a thread I've already posted on a few times in "Current Events." I feel very badly for the parents. This horrific attack happened after 9 when the toddler was playing in the water. There were "no swimming" signs all along the lagoon. However, perhaps Disney should have taken extra precaution and added the alligator warning signs like that have at other resorts close by. [URL="http://www.tmz.com/2016/06/15/disney-alligator-attack-signs-warning-hyatt/"]Example[/URL]

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by arleigh

When people ignore warnings they should bear the responsibility for their actions them self and not blame others nor the wild life .
When one goes into the wild, they invade the animals territory ,and should accept the fact that animals do what they do naturally .
I am more familiar with mountain lion attacks having a few close calls personally.
Animals are acting on their instincts, it's how they survive.
People taking things for granted, simply because it is adjacent to a fantasy land, is how dumbed down stupid people are getting.
I feel bad for the loss and the family , but will any one learn form this event ? I seriously doubt it.

Hopefully Disney will.