Alligators in Miami!!!!! (Everglades: to buy, live in, food)

[Three Wolves In Snow]

Originally Posted by SARAHSELLAR

thanks all for your answers. so my new question is why do people want to live on the canals then? I am told these houses are worth more and considered more appealing? and in short would YOU buy a house on a canal or would all the above put you off?

I think, (and I'm merely guessing), that people live on the canal because it looks nicer, as someone mentioned, you don't have neighbors up on your back side because there's a canal there, it CAN keep things a little cooler...not a lot but a little.

You just go in to knowing you don't go swimming in the canal and you don't take your dog for a walk around that canal. It's for looking at, only. (Unless you want to do as cixcell says and canoe in there...which is fine, unless you get too close to a nest, the gator is going to leave you alone...unless some idiot fed it...then all bets are off.)

If you know that the canal has a gator in it and it could access your yard, just be cautious when walking around at night.

It's not as extreme as the Glades where I lived before I moved out of Miami but every single night, when I had to take the dogs out for a walk, I had to go out first and check the area for gators because they DID come in to our yards. (That has a LOT more to do with idiots feeding them or leaving their trash bags outside than it had to do with them going from one place to the other.) So, just use caution and you'll be fine.

I merely stated what I did so that you would know how to live around alligators in FL since you have not been around them before.

Listen, your very first alligator? It will probably scare you. But soon, you'll get to know them and again, leaving them alone, not feeding them, you'll start to be perfectly fine with them...you can see that by the reaction some people have right here in this thread. "It's not a big deal." To them it is not because they are used to alligators. You are not, the first time will cause a bit of anxiety but, again, you'll get used to them.

And really, the chances of you seeing one? Not as often as you would think. You may live your entire life in Miami and not see one....which, I think is far fetched but it is possible.

However, living around a canal...totally doable, nothing wrong with it...just be smart about it. That's all.

[cixcell]

far fetched. you have to see a gator at least once in a canal somewhere. only if you completely avoided any and all nature would you never see one.

gators = not a big deal. theyre typically more afraid of you than you are of them. theyre typically looking for something smaller to swallow and youre much too big for that.

[cixcell]

i might add that my work is on a canal. the smokers hang out next to the canal, take their smoke breaks and watch the gators in it. its not a big deal.

[perry335654]

Beware, before you take a running dive in to your pool as that cute critter may be lurking in the deep end.

[Radrook]

They should start cutting down the gator problem by popularizing gator meat as an alternative to beef.
Gators not a problem? Tell me that when the gator is sitting sunning itself in your backyard and you have kids.

BTW
Gators don't try swallow their prey whole. Threy use the death role in order to dismember and tear large chunks of meat off your frame in order to eat you one piece at a time. The ones that depend on swallowing prey whole after they kill it are the large constrictor snakes such as the Anacondas. If it were up to me I'd declare open hunting season on both. Bring down tha gator population to a more manageable size and exterminate the foreign large constrictor snakes.

[cixcell]

rad: its very very tough. you have to beat the hell out of it to make it soft enough to do anything with.

[Radrook]

Well, according to this article alligator tail portion is edible.

Is Alligator Meat Good for You?

....Alligator meat is considered to be healthier than domestic chicken, especially when it comes to cholesterol and fat content. The most common alligator meat product sold in stores is the tail section. Alligator tail meat is very similar to veal in texture, but is said to taste like chicken, rabbit, fish or frog's legs. Some also compare the tail meat to the white portions of pork.

There is also a tenderloin portion of alligator meat, located in a tubular section of the tail.

While the tail portion may be considered the best section of alligator meat, there is also some consumer demand for the darker, slightly tougher midsection meat....

http://www.wisegeek.com/is-alligator...od-for-you.htm

Just found out you can even order alligator meat to be delivered to your door online.
http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...W_enUS378US378

[cixcell]

Originally Posted by Radrook

Well, according to this article alligator tail portion is edible.

did you hear me? i didnt say it wasnt edible. i said it was tough as hell. and if you dont believe that, eat some yourself.

[Reptoid Humidian]

Originally Posted by Radrook

Well, according to this article alligator tail portion is edible.



Just found out you can even order alligator meat to be delivered to your door online.
order alligator meat online - Google Search

I know!!!

[Reptoid Humidian]

I've had alligator "mcnuggets", alligator sausage, and alligator hamburger with a garlic tapenade. I love it. The gator burgers are light on the digestive system and don't sit like a soggy rock like a normal beef hamburger would. Also, the "mcnuggets" are not ground in any way. They are whole pieces of meat, and they're a little tough, but still very edible.