Gators! yikes! (real estate, new home, neighborhood)

[StLouisSue]

ok, so the real estate agent told us there are gators in the rivers in Georgia, then she told us about one sliding into the water not too far away from where she and her daughter were sitting on their waverunner.

So..... in Missouri we do a lot of river floats and things of that sort. I take it that doesn't happen in Georgia? How do people keep from getting eaten by gators and still enjoy the rivers?

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by StLouisSue

ok, so the real estate agent told us there are gators in the rivers in Georgia, then she told us about one sliding into the water not too far away from where she and her daughter were sitting on their waverunner.

So..... in Missouri we do a lot of river floats and things of that sort. I take it that doesn't happen in Georgia? How do people keep from getting eaten by gators and still enjoy the rivers?

The Chattahoochee River is gator free---in the northern part of the state. LOL.

Maybe posters close to FL can offer some suggestions. I don't think it is a huge problem. Surely the state parks/recreation departments have this sort of FYI.

sls

[midgeorgiaman]

From a quick search, between 1948 and 2004, there were only 8 alligator attacks on humans in GA and only one was a fatality. In the same time period there have been nearly 500 deaths due to lightning in GA.

Pretty good odds that you will be struck by lightning long before being attacked by a gator.

I play in the rivers across south ga and have never seen one. Just don't swim in known alligator areas. The Dept of Natural Resorces will remove any gator that is known to frequent inhabited recreational waters.

FYI, if you live in an alligator area, I wouldn't let fluffy or fido be alone near the water, but otherwise, its not really an issue.

[StLouisSue]

reminds me of the Australian attitude toward sharks in their waters.. Australians just don't swim where they're known to be and really take issue with people who complain about getting attacked when the waters are known to be unsafe.

I'll have to check with their parks dept to see what's what.. thanks for your responses.

[kjjbuck]

I live in Florida - funny, we just were talking about the possiblity of Gators in our new home in Georgia yesterday. As far as I've always believed - in Florida, you assume there are gators in every body of water. We just always swim where it's roped off. If it's mating season, you just stay in the boat - because they will cross a lake right in the middle at that time of year. Otherwise, it's realtively safe and very common to see people skiing, jet-skiing, etc. all over in the lakes and rivers. Just don't swim in water that's too close to the edges overgrown with trees and shrubs. And for the love of all that is holy - DO NOT FEED THEM!!! That's what makes them associate people with food. They are inclined to stear clear of people - but for some reason there are still people who can't get it through their heads that you don't feed wild animals even if they are far away - because tomorrow it could be the one sitting under your dock.

[pinkmartini]

We've had two in our neighborhood so far this year!!! They're all over south GA.

[StLouisSue]

What were they doing and did your neighbors call animal control? How did you guys deal with them?? Were they on someone's lawn basking or were they harrassing (in addition to being generally scary)?

Originally Posted by pinkmartini

We've had two in our neighborhood so far this year!!! They're all over south GA.

[Prichard]

Oh, Gators do a bunch of nothing. They lay around soaking up the sun, and if they get agitated, they mainly make a loud hissing sound. Most likely if you approach one (unless they are mating) they will just jump back into the water where they are more comfortable.

Personally, I think that if you see a Gator on your land you should shoot them, skin them and heat the tail meat. The law says differently, but they are a pest, not endangered, not even threatened, and I have no quams about shooting pests, if need be.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by Prichard

Personally, I think that if you see a Gator on your land you should shoot them, skin them and heat the tail meat. The law says differently, but they are a pest, not endangered, not even threatened, and I have no quams about shooting pests, if need be.

Keeping in mind that if they CATCH you shooting one, you'll go to jail - the Gator won't.

I'm not sure what the animal control laws are here in Georgia now though, but in Florida someone said they no longer answer complant calls unless the Gator is "larger than 4 feet in length" or is showing aggressive behavior. Otherwise if it's 4ft or smaller and just laying around, it can be anywhere on your property and you just have to leave it alone. Again, not sure about how the Georgia authorities handle it.

A bigger problem now is the burmese python. Some years ago people released pets in the swamps and now they say the pythons are breeding A LOT and are becoming a problem. Unlike Gators, they have no problems being around people and people are starting to find them in their yards in Florida. Gators will only "come at you" if they are protecting young. Pythons will attack anything - even Gators.

[pinkmartini]

Originally Posted by StLouisSue

What were they doing and did your neighbors call animal control? How did you guys deal with them?? Were they on someone's lawn basking or were they harrassing (in addition to being generally scary)?

Both were eliminated from what I hear. One was sitting near a small pond and the other was taking a stroll through the neighborhood in the middle of the night.

I've heard a lot of stories about gator encounters around here. One funny/strange one was about a lady that kept calling the police to report that a gator was in her pool. After the 2nd call, the police were getting a bit perturbed that she was negligent in keeping her gate closed. Well.....a week or so later, they got a 3rd phone call....this time she had a picture of the gator hanging over her fence.....it had been climbing over her chain link fence to get to the pool!!!!!!!!!!!