According to TMZ gator tried to board raft to tom sawyer island

[crazgurl]

I'm not sure what the policy is for linking to TMZ on this site, but they have photos of a gator trying to board a raft. Not sure if this has been mentioned before, sorry if it has or if this isn't the right board to post this on. Please delete if that's the case.

I know Florida is Alligator country, always has been, and I know I've seen them around the waters myself, but is the problem getting worse? I will admit those photos worried me a little.

 

[Horizons1]

Oh boy. Here we go with any media outlet attempting to showcase WDW as dangerous due to the presence of alligators.

 

[Master Yoda]

I do not think there is a problem with it so I will link the article.

http://www.tmz.com/2016/06/17/disney-world-alligator-in-park-weeks-before-attack/

As to the article...gators have always been in WDW. A little more so now thanks to their population rebounding, but it seems since the tragedy, every news organization is running with any video of a gator in WDW or a picture of a kid ankle deep in the & Seas Lagoon.

 

[mleeeman]

Makes me laugh that people expect to not see a gator in the swamps of Florida. That would be like being in Arizona and not expecting to see a rattler or scorpion. It was their home long before it was ours.

 

[xdan0920]

I do not think there is a problem with it so I will link the article.

http://www.tmz.com/2016/06/17/disney-world-alligator-in-park-weeks-before-attack/

As to the article...gators have always been in WDW. A little more so now thanks to their population rebounding, but it seems since the tragedy, every news organization is running with any video of a gator in WDW or a picture of a kid ankle deep in the & Seas Lagoon.

There was no wide shot of the raft. It looks like it wasn't in operation when this gator tried to mount it.

 

[Horizons1]

Makes me laugh that people expect to not see a gator in the swamps of Florida. That would be like being in Arizona and not expecting to see a rattler or scorpion. It was their home long before it was ours.

But this isn't Florida, it's Disney! And Disney is supposed to be super safe!!!

 

[BrerJon]

It's gotten worse because people have been feeding them from the Bora Bora Bungalows at the Poly, and word has spread round the alligator community that Disney's a good place for food.

 

[NearTheEars]

There was no wide shot of the raft. It looks like it wasn't in operation when this gator tried to mount it.

TMZ doesn't care about that.

 

[marni1971]

I do not think there is a problem with it so I will link the article.

http://www.tmz.com/2016/06/17/disney-world-alligator-in-park-weeks-before-attack/

As to the article...gators have always been in WDW. A little more so now thanks to their population rebounding, but it seems since the tragedy, every news organization is running with any video of a gator in WDW or a picture of a kid ankle deep in the & Seas Lagoon.

Am I looking at a red arrow pointing at a shadow??

 

[xdan0920]

It's gotten worse because people have been feeding them from the Bora Bora Bungalows at the Poly, and word has got round the alligator community that Disney's a good place for food.

Well, sort of....

It's gotten worse because....

1. Gators are a protected species.

2. Too much encroachment on their habitat, forcing them into human occupied areas.

3. People feed them EVERYWHERE in WDW. Not just the Poly Bungalows. I know you hate the bungalows, but to blame the influx of Gators solely on them is wrong, and makes your mostly valid point seem like a petty shot.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I can't see anything in that photo, is that arrow pointing at something? Because I really wouldn't put it past TMZ for just posting this article as more clickbait nonsense per usual. They generally function as a celebrity tabloid.

 

[Master Yoda]

Am I looking at a red arrow pointing at a shadow??

Not quite. There is an actual gator.

 

[xdan0920]

TMZ doesn't care about that.

I think they cut the video short before it panned out. Sensationalize it.

Am I looking at a red arrow pointing at a shadow??

I think that is just for reference, since the angle is so tight in the video.

 

[marni1971]

Not quite. There is an actual gator.

View attachment 146493

Weird. I didn't get that photo.

Of a raft. In the rain.

What a load of tosh.

 

[Master Yoda]

Well, sort of....

It's gotten worse because....

3. People feed them EVERYWHERE in WDW. Not just the Poly Bungalows. I know you hate the bungalows, but to blame the influx of Gators solely on them is wrong, and makes your mostly valid point seem like a petty shot.

Quite correct. I have been to WDW a grand total of once since the bungalows opened, but have lost track of the number of times I have seen people feeding gators in my more than 100 trips prior to that. I have seen it everywhere from the Rivers of America, DTD, PORS, CS, CBR and FQ. I have even seen it in the lake between POP and AoA.

The bungalows do provide a more convenient place to do it, but they are a drop in the bucket.

 

[crazgurl]

I agree we will see more of these photos because the media just wants clicks etc., and most of the time these photos don't phase me, I do expect to see them in florida and have seen them myself. What concerns me is on a ride or attraction in a park where they could in fact come in contact with people, not just off on their own around splash mountain. I feel like that is something fairly new and I will admit that does concern me.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Not exactly news that there are gators in the Rivers of America, i've seen multiple videos of one just feet away from the Splash Mountain flume after the drop.



There's another video of an alligator trying to climb over the barrier to get inside the flume, with an employee trying to stop it. Video complete with horror movie music added (i won't post it, seems somewhat alarmist and disrespectful in light of the tragedy, you can find it easily enough by searching "alligator splash mountain" in youtube)...

Are there actually openings in the TSI rafts that a gator could get inside?

 

[alphac2005]

Well, sort of....

It's gotten worse because....


2. Too much encroachment on their habitat, forcing them into human occupied areas.

It's a huge problem with so many species around the globe and too few people acknowledge that it's not that they're in our territory, rather we've taken over theirs. Where I live, there has become a good number of coyotes appearing in yards and it's because our neighborhood is one of the few with heavy brush and wilderness, whereas every other strip of land is being shaved to the bone and developed.

 

[Master Yoda]

Weird. I didn't get that photo.

Of a raft. In the rain.

What a load of tosh.

That was a crop of the photo used as the screen cap for the video. I added the arrows. (bow down to my extreme MS Paint skills!!!! )

 

[Master Yoda]

Not exactly news that there are gators in the Rivers of America, i've seen videos of them just feet away from the Splash Mountain flume after the drop.


Are there actually openings in the TSI rafts that a gator could get inside?

There is a gap created by round logs under a flat deck they can get in. That is what the gator in the picture is doing.