ALLIGATORS!

Gulf shores state park has a sign at the dog park. It's at the water and it says " don't agitate the alligators "

Dumb but true: Friends came to home one evening and asked if I wanted to go frogging. Well since I had never been before (or since) I went. Four adults and two children in boat. We saw a couple alligators and that was when my friend said one can tell the size of the gator by the distance between the eyes. He decided to catch a small one. It turned out to be about four feet long. Naturally he dropped him in the boat and it thrashed around and knocked out all the lights. 12 legs and feet in a boat in total darkness with an angry gator. Well when we finally got the lights back on there was all the adults and one kid in the front of the boat and one 4 year old (sucking his thumb) and the gator in the back of the boat staring at each other.

bgum wrote:
None should be allowed in your neighborhood. Eventually a loved one will be attacked.

Anything big enough to hurt a human is removed; but we seem to get babies who like to hide in the drainages ditches from larger predators. We leave them along and they seem to wander off as they get a little bigger. But we also have 1000' of frontage on the Intracoastal, so have Bull Sharks and Sting Rays; the occasional Water Moccasin, etc. When it gets too "bite-y" in the Spring we head back to good ol' Michigan....LOL!

Cannibalism has nothing to do with the size of the gator population, they can and do dine on one another.

The problem in Florida is development keeps edging into gator habitat, much like frequent bear
sitings in the area I live in, 3 miles from Wekiva State Park/Forest, surrounded by residential development. The bears didn't get the memo either.....

Gators love dogs because they (dogs) like to be near water and can be caught unaware or they stand at the waters edge and bark at the gator. The gator is so fast that the dog doesn't have a chance to get away. I think they also prefer the taste. None should be allowed in your neighborhood. Eventually a loved one will be attacked.

I googled "Alligator kills woman trying to save dog" because there have been several human deaths - but there were so many horrific videos of dogs being grabbed by alligators, that I simply closed the search. We have 2 large retention ponds on our Space Coast condo complex, and I appreciate the residents who alert us to the presence of any large (6'+) ones in the area, which prompts a call to a licensed trapper. I do NOT walk my dogs near water in the early morning or evening hours when gators prefer to feed - and I adhere to the theory that "where there's water, there's gators"

They are extremely fast for the first 10 yards and are unpredictable.
Dogs are easy prey and you will be left with a leash with nothing on the end.