S/O: Wilmington, NC alligators

[DawnM]

So........

WHAT IN THE CROCODILE HANDBAG IS THIS???????????????

 

[Scarlett]

How in the world did it get in there?

[alisoncooks]

In the attic is crazy! I mean, one always sees them clustered around the battleship but still…!?

[MercyA]

15 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

How in the world did it get in there?

A door was left open over the weekend and they think the alligator climbed the steps to the top floor:

https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/north-carolina-inspector-finds-8-foot-alligator-attic-home/NMNBOEELUBGVLN6SFOQKOHJGKQ/

The alligator was safely released back into the wild (whew). 🙂 

Edited March 20, 2023 by MercyA

[Katy]

There was a cold snap, he could probably feel warmth coming from the attic. 

[Faith-manor]

Holy cow, batman! No thanks. 🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃

Of course, Alabama authorities who were apparently drunk or high for many decisions of the 1970's introduced 50 gators to the Tennessee River at Wheeler Wildlife Refuge. Uhm. They aren't supposed to naturally live that far north. Idiots. Morons. Now of course they have adapted to the cold so when it got down into the teens and below with windchills below zero this past December for numerous days, they lived, possibly a little cranky about the weather, but they lived. The river and lake water temps did not fall below freezing, but were actually below 40° in several spots. That river, at the US 231 bridge south of Huntsville froze back in 1940. So did this week + of those kinds of temps even thin the herd a little bit? No.it.did.not. So I will NOT be kayaking the Tennessee River which is so sad because I really want to do so. However, gators give me the absolute creepy crawlies, and my paddle is too light weight to beat the buggars off so unless Redstone Arsenal blasts them out of the water for me, I'm not going. Sadly, I think the military has other things to do besides nuke gators for kayakers. And where were NASA scientists in all this???? Hello, Marshall? Y'all have PHDs in hard sciences? You didn't tell the Marx Brothers that they shouldn't do this??? 😠😠😠

The gators are coming for us here in the frozen wasteland of the far north of the U.S. Someday we will be shooting those blasted things in Lake Superior, and they'll be trying to swim International Falls, MN. Ranchers in Montana will like, "Wait! What just ate my cow?" And it won't be a wolf. It will be a damn gator. And of course during snow storms, they'll be knocking on everyone's front doors begging to come in.

Why is it that normal people can see the value of NOT introducing invasive species to the environment, especially ones known for their ridiculous Darwinian adaptive skills but the numbskulls in charge cannot understand this? 

May the Force be with us all because we are going to need it! 😁

[Indigo Blue]

I really enjoyed the video that popped up after the alligator one, too. It’s about a man who came up with a genius way of getting the squatters out of his mom’s house. 

[Scarlett]

51 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

I really enjoyed the video that popped up after the alligator one, too. It’s about a man who came up with a genius way of getting the squatters out of his mom’s house. 

Hmmm.  I did not pop up for me.  

[Dmmetler]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

Holy cow, batman! No thanks. 🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃

Of course, Alabama authorities who were apparently drunk or high for many decisions of the 1970's introduced 50 gators to the Tennessee River at Wheeler Wildlife Refuge. Uhm. They aren't supposed to naturally live that far north. Idiots. Morons. Now of course they have adapted to the cold so when it got down into the teens and below with windchills below zero this past December for numerous days, they lived, possibly a little cranky about the weather, but they lived. The river and lake water temps did not fall below freezing, but were actually below 40° in several spots. That river, at the US 231 bridge south of Huntsville froze back in 1940. So did this week + of those kinds of temps even thin the herd a little bit? No.it.did.not. So I will NOT be kayaking the Tennessee River which is so sad because I really want to do so. However, gators give me the absolute creepy crawlies, and my paddle is too light weight to beat the buggars off so unless Redstone Arsenal blasts them out of the water for me, I'm not going. Sadly, I think the military has other things to do besides nuke gators for kayakers. And where were NASA scientists in all this???? Hello, Marshall? Y'all have PHDs in hard sciences? You didn't tell the Marx Brothers that they shouldn't do this??? 😠😠😠

The gators are coming for us here in the frozen wasteland of the far north of the U.S. Someday we will be shooting those blasted things in Lake Superior, and they'll be trying to swim International Falls, MN. Ranchers in Montana will like, "Wait! What just ate my cow?" And it won't be a wolf. It will be a damn gator. And of course during snow storms, they'll be knocking on everyone's front doors begging to come in.

Why is it that normal people can see the value of NOT introducing invasive species to the environment, especially ones known for their ridiculous Darwinian adaptive skills but the numbskulls in charge cannot understand this? 

May the Force be with us all because we are going to need it! 😁

Their historical native range includes up to Southern TN. They are NOT an invasive species anywhere in AL, but a reintroduction of an extirpated species. They're called Alligator missisppiens for a reason-the original documentation finds them along the Mississippi river and it's tributaries, which includes the Tenneesee river. Them being there and thriving is a sign of a functioning ecosystem. 

 

Edited March 20, 2023 by Dmmetler

[Indigo Blue]

2 hours ago, Scarlett said:

Sorry. I can’t find it again. He just took matters into his own hands. Drove 12 hours with his dog. Arrived at 4:00 am. Waited until the house was empty. Changed the locks. He then essentially became the squatter on the squatter. When they showed up, he just told them they had until midnight to get their stuff out of the house. If they hadn’t, he had already arranged for some guys to come in and take it all out. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by Indigo Blue

[Scarlett]

16 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

Their historical native range includes up to Southern TN. They are NOT an invasive species anywhere in AL, but a reintroduction of an extirpated species. They're called Alligator missisppiens for a reason-the original documentation finds them along the Mississippi river and it's tributaries, which includes the Tenneesee river. Them being there and thriving is a sign of a functioning ecosystem. 

 

Thank you.I did not know that.  
p.s.  they freak me out though.

[Pawz4me]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

Holy cow, batman! No thanks. 🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃

Of course, Alabama authorities who were apparently drunk or high for many decisions of the 1970's introduced 50 gators to the Tennessee River at Wheeler Wildlife Refuge. Uhm. They aren't supposed to naturally live that far north. Idiots. Morons. Now of course they have adapted to the cold so when it got down into the teens and below with windchills below zero this past December for numerous days, they lived, possibly a little cranky about the weather, but they lived. The river and lake water temps did not fall below freezing, but were actually below 40° in several spots. That river, at the US 231 bridge south of Huntsville froze back in 1940. So did this week + of those kinds of temps even thin the herd a little bit? No.it.did.not. So I will NOT be kayaking the Tennessee River which is so sad because I really want to do so. However, gators give me the absolute creepy crawlies, and my paddle is too light weight to beat the buggars off so unless Redstone Arsenal blasts them out of the water for me, I'm not going. Sadly, I think the military has other things to do besides nuke gators for kayakers. And where were NASA scientists in all this???? Hello, Marshall? Y'all have PHDs in hard sciences? You didn't tell the Marx Brothers that they shouldn't do this??? 😠😠😠

The gators are coming for us here in the frozen wasteland of the far north of the U.S. Someday we will be shooting those blasted things in Lake Superior, and they'll be trying to swim International Falls, MN. Ranchers in Montana will like, "Wait! What just ate my cow?" And it won't be a wolf. It will be a damn gator. And of course during snow storms, they'll be knocking on everyone's front doors begging to come in.

Why is it that normal people can see the value of NOT introducing invasive species to the environment, especially ones known for their ridiculous Darwinian adaptive skills but the numbskulls in charge cannot understand this? 

May the Force be with us all because we are going to need it! 😁

Alligators ARE native to NC. Nothing surprising at all about one around that area. But not in an attic.

[Dmmetler]

16 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Thank you.I did not know that.  
p.s.  they freak me out though.

Honestly, if you're going to be freaked out by an animal, an alligator is a decent choice. We don't have many animals in the USA that can predate on humans-alligators make that short list. 

 

What I've heard about them from field researchers is to keep in mind that their closest relatives are birds. They're home site defensive, practice parental care, and arequick strike predators. Basically, big geese with more teeth.  

 

[Starr]

His name is Lyle.

[Jean in Newcastle]

1 hour ago, Indigo Blue said:

Sorry. I can’t find it again. He just took matters into his own hands. Drove 12 hours with his dog. Arrived at 4:00 am. Waited until the house was empty. Changed the locks. He then essentially became the squatter on the squatter. When they showed up, he just told them they had until midnight to get their stuff out of the house. If they hadn’t, he had already arranged for some guys to come in and take it all out. 

I thought that you were going to say that he released some alligators into the house with them. 

[Innisfree]

3 hours ago, Dmmetler said:

Honestly, if you're going to be freaked out by an animal, an alligator is a decent choice. We don't have many animals in the USA that can predate on humans-alligators make that short list. 

 

What I've heard about them from field researchers is to keep in mind that their closest relatives are birds. They're home site defensive, practice parental care, and arequick strike predators. Basically, big geese with more teeth.  

 

The bolded paragraph is interesting. Thanks for educating us!

 I’m not so terribly far north of an area where they live, and have no desire to be any closer. Climate change could easily shift that range north a bit, I suspect, so I’m glad we’re going to be heading farther away when dh retires. 

[Dmmetler]

2 hours ago, Innisfree said:

The bolded paragraph is interesting. Thanks for educating us!

 I’m not so terribly far north of an area where they live, and have no desire to be any closer. Climate change could easily shift that range north a bit, I suspect, so I’m glad we’re going to be heading farther away when dh retires. 

If you're in more bumpy land, you're safe except for maybe right on a river bank. They tend to be more low land/marshy critters, which is why there are pretty large swaths of states where they could live where they are rarely or never seen, despite being farther south/warmer than areas where they are seen more often. 

And, to be honest, there are predators for every ecosystem. Alligators, mountain lions, bears, sharks, etc. In all cases, the requirements are basically the same-stay out of their way, don't feed them, and remember they were here first. This is their home. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by Dmmetler

[WildflowerMom]

Some of y'all would die if you lived where I live, lol.   Let's just say there's a whole bunch of gators here.   😱🤣

[DawnM]

2 hours ago, WildflowerMom said:

Some of y'all would die if you lived where I live, lol.   Let's just say there's a whole bunch of gators here.   😱🤣

No thank you.   My friend's brother was eaten by a croc.  I know they are very different, but it was horrific.   It was while I was in high school.  He was 16 years old.   

[KidsHappen]

When I lived in FL I lived near canals as did some of our friends. We lived on the last house in a neighborhood and then there were two unoccupied streets before the canals and we frequently saw alligators walking on the streets near our house. They sometimes would go into peoples yards, up to their doors or in their pools. My children were quite young and even though there was plenty of space for them to play, I didn't feel comfortable turning them loose at certain times of the day for fear of alligators.

Our friends who lived right on the canals often had alligators sunning on the banks of the canals which was basically right in their backyard. And you definitely didn't want to have a pool right on a canal without a fence because they would often commandeer the pools. You always had to check the pools and surrounding area before jumping in.

[WildflowerMom]

18 minutes ago, DawnM said:

No thank you.   My friend's brother was eaten by a croc.  I know they are very different, but it was horrific.   It was while I was in high school.  He was 16 years old.   

Those really scare me.    I think they're even more dangerous than gators.    There's some in south Florida, but none here.  Thank god.   Gators are bad enough.  

[Terabith]

This is what really scares me:  https://abc11.com/african-snails-snail-giant-pet/12982363/#:~:text=Customs officers confiscated 6 illegal,luggage%3A Six giant African snails.

ETA:  Partly because they're horrifying and carry diseases, but also because they're really, REALLY hard to kill.  Flamethrowers won't necessarily suffice.

Edited March 21, 2023 by Terabith

[Dmmetler]

12 minutes ago, WildflowerMom said:

Those really scare me.    I think they're even more dangerous than gators.    There's some in south Florida, but none here.  Thank god.   Gators are bad enough.  

American crocodiles are mostly in the keys. With the exception of extreme S. FL, generally you get alligators or crocodiles but not both. Crocodiles tend to account for more human deaths,but part of that is where they are geographically (and part of that is that on average, they're bigger) 

[katilac]

15 hours ago, Dmmetler said:

Honestly, if you're going to be freaked out by an animal, an alligator is a decent choice. We don't have many animals in the USA that can predate on humans-alligators make that short list. 

I mean, they can kill humans, but it's not really their jam. You're much more likely to be mauled to death by dogs or struck by lightning. 

I'm in Louisiana, so there are always alligators right near the nature trails, and sometimes sunning themselves on the nature trails. They stroll across the golf courses. Wildlife won't even come move an alligator from a neighborhood unless they classify it as a nuisance. Around four feet long, and staying away from people? Yeah, let's give it a couple of days and see if it moves on.

If I see one on a golf course or in a park, I make sure there's enough distance between us but it doesn't bother me. I don't leave, although of course I would if he seemed determined to stroll in my direction. They're often in the marsh just a few feet from the nature trails, and it's routine to walk past them. What I could not deal with is being in a canoe or a kayak and blithely paddling past them. No thank you! They're nice enough to let me walk past them on land, I'm going to graciously concede the waterways to them. 

17 hours ago, MercyA said:

A door was left open over the weekend and they think the alligator climbed the steps to the top floor:

Alligators are surprisingly good climbers. 

6 hours ago, KidsHappen said:

When I lived in FL I lived near canals as did some of our friends. We lived on the last house in a neighborhood and then there were two unoccupied streets before the canals and we frequently saw alligators walking on the streets near our house. They sometimes would go into peoples yards, up to their doors or in their pools. My children were quite young and even though there was plenty of space for them to play, I didn't feel comfortable turning them loose at certain times of the day for fear of alligators.

While it's still very unlikely to happen, a child is definitely in more danger than an adult from an alligator.  They don't like our height (so also maybe don't kneel down to take photos in a gator area). Young kids also tend to jump and flail about, which isn't good. And if one of the kids has a small dog with them, that's extra not good. I would take those same precautions, because why not? Plenty of other times of day to run loose and play. 

We used to volunteer at the nature preserve by us, and you would not believe the way people would argue with us about taking their little dogs on the trail! Some of them would promise to clean up after the dog, and I'm like, we're not worried about your dog pooping, we're worried about your dog getting eaten. Even when they had preschoolers with them, and we explained that the dog made it more likely that an alligator would mistake the child for prey, they didn't want to back down. 

Some of the true die-hards would ask what we would do if they just walked past us with the dog. They'd snicker and ask, you gonna call a park ranger? Yes, yes I am. I am going to call the one who is a federal law enforcement officer and has a gun and the power to arrest and generally ruin your day. 

And they'd be shocked that such a thing existed. Like did you think there was just no law enforcement in a federal park? 

[TravelingChris]

19 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

Holy cow, batman! No thanks. 🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃

Of course, Alabama authorities who were apparently drunk or high for many decisions of the 1970's introduced 50 gators to the Tennessee River at Wheeler Wildlife Refuge. Uhm. They aren't supposed to naturally live that far north. Idiots. Morons. Now of course they have adapted to the cold so when it got down into the teens and below with windchills below zero this past December for numerous days, they lived, possibly a little cranky about the weather, but they lived. The river and lake water temps did not fall below freezing, but were actually below 40° in several spots. That river, at the US 231 bridge south of Huntsville froze back in 1940. So did this week + of those kinds of temps even thin the herd a little bit? No.it.did.not. So I will NOT be kayaking the Tennessee River which is so sad because I really want to do so. However, gators give me the absolute creepy crawlies, and my paddle is too light weight to beat the buggars off so unless Redstone Arsenal blasts them out of the water for me, I'm not going. Sadly, I think the military has other things to do besides nuke gators for kayakers. And where were NASA scientists in all this???? Hello, Marshall? Y'all have PHDs in hard sciences? You didn't tell the Marx Brothers that they shouldn't do this??? 😠😠😠

The gators are coming for us here in the frozen wasteland of the far north of the U.S. Someday we will be shooting those blasted things in Lake Superior, and they'll be trying to swim International Falls, MN. Ranchers in Montana will like, "Wait! What just ate my cow?" And it won't be a wolf. It will be a damn gator. And of course during snow storms, they'll be knocking on everyone's front doors begging to come in.

Why is it that normal people can see the value of NOT introducing invasive species to the environment, especially ones known for their ridiculous Darwinian adaptive skills but the numbskulls in charge cannot understand this? 

May the Force be with us all because we are going to need it! 😁

Oh I love our gators here.    Just to let you know the gators up here are protected and there is never a hunt here in North Alabama. We have gators that have decided  to live in a residential area around here.Again protected -- all the authorities can do is remove a gator. A few years ago there was a giant uproar because these two morons took a gator from  Wheelitr National Wildlife Refuge tied it up dragged it behind their truck and shot it dead. Everybody was trying to get the these idiots arrested and they were. They figured out who they were and they were brought in under federal and state charges. We have a lot of animals that have just migrated into this area they're not invasive too for example they say there are no black bears here but every year we have lots of reports of black bears in Northern Alabama. We have a lot of deer in Alabama therefore we have cougars too again not well reported  and I don't know whether those are Florida Panthers or the Western Panthers or the ones from the Northeast that have  come here.All I know is that cougars follow deer. We have less of that here because unlike Eastern Pennsylvania people here go hunting. I remember visiting Valley Forge and being totally upset about how many deer there were. I don't like deer. I don't like the animals that eat my garden. I don't mind predators.The predators are great-- they eat the things that eat my garden. For example I love snakes cause they eat the chipmunks and the squirrels. They keep it under control. But once you've had your whole garden eating or I should say half eaten which is even worse by some squirrel that decides to take a bite out of every tomato you have and the deer that eat all your hostas and everything pretty much you hate deer.

Armadillos are here and they just came l y themselves too.

[WildflowerMom]

5 hours ago, TravelingChris said:

Oh I love our gators here.    Just to let you know the gators up here are protected and there is never a hunt here in North Alabama. We have gators that have decided  to live in a residential area around here.Again protected -- all the authorities can do is remove a gator. A few years ago there was a giant uproar because these two morons took a gator from  Wheelitr National Wildlife Refuge tied it up dragged it behind their truck and shot it dead. Everybody was trying to get the these idiots arrested and they were. They figured out who they were and they were brought in under federal and state charges. We have a lot of animals that have just migrated into this area they're not invasive too for example they say there are no black bears here but every year we have lots of reports of black bears in Northern Alabama. We have a lot of deer in Alabama therefore we have cougars too again not well reported  and I don't know whether those are Florida Panthers or the Western Panthers or the ones from the Northeast that have  come here.All I know is that cougars follow deer. We have less of that here because unlike Eastern Pennsylvania people here go hunting. I remember visiting Valley Forge and being totally upset about how many deer there were. I don't like deer. I don't like the animals that eat my garden. I don't mind predators.The predators are great-- they eat the things that eat my garden. For example I love snakes cause they eat the chipmunks and the squirrels. They keep it under control. But once you've had your whole garden eating or I should say half eaten which is even worse by some squirrel that decides to take a bite out of every tomato you have and the deer that eat all your hostas and everything pretty much you hate deer.

Armadillos are here and they just came l y themselves too.

This kinda thing always makes me laugh.   We get the same nonsense here in Georgia.  If I had a nickel for every time someone has said 'we don't have panthers here'.   Then guess what turns up on game cams?    And the farmers here will tell you we absolutely have them.    They're supposed to be in south Florida, but ds and I had one walk across the road on us coming back from Crawfordville (fl) one night.   We turned down some old logging road just to follow it for a minute, but of course it sprinted away.    Normally I wouldn't have done that but I think we were both in shock to actually see one out in the wild so clear.    Where we live now, I'm sure they're fairly rampant but they stay in the swamps.