Frontierland alligators

[wiskband]

nite......... very interesting. Actually i have become very interested and curious about gators since my visit thanks for the info. I still think that Disney would be very concerned with the threat of a gator attacking a guest. I mean their standards are so high in every aspect and they are certainly an easy target for lawsuits you would think that they would do everything possible to keep gators off the property. Any guest has access to the water. although you are not allowed to swim near the marinas I have seen many people including myself go into the shallow water, not to mention the bodies of water located all over the property. thanks again for the info......out it in my favorites and gonna check it out.
:animwink:

 

[DisneyJill]

I saw one of the gators in Frontierland, right near where you board the rafts to Tom Sawyer Island...I thought it had accidently wandered in. Didn't know it was supposed to be there!! I have a friend thats a CM and he said he's seen them on the golf courses a few times. I agree with whoever said DONT FEED THE GATORS!!!!

 

[niteobsrvr]

Originally posted by DisneyJill
I saw one of the gators in Frontierland, right near where you board the rafts to Tom Sawyer Island...I thought it had accidently wandered in. Didn't know it was supposed to be there!! I have a friend thats a CM and he said he's seen them on the golf courses a few times. I agree with whoever said DONT FEED THE GATORS!!!!

The ones that show up on the golf courses are the ones most likely to be encouraged to move along. LOL, I guess they enjoy watching frustrated individuals chasing after tiny white balls.

 

[Sora]

Wow. Just simply wow. Who in their right mind FEEDS Gators? I mean, seriously. I know there are some real STUPID people out there that are all like, "Look at the wild animal laying in the sun there! Isn't he cute!? Honey, throw him a bit of your burger! Oh, how cute, he ate it and now he's coming closer! Just ignore him and he'll go away! It's just like the dog at home, Bobby, give him a few scraps to make him happy and then just let him be! He'll just go off and not want anymore!" And then SOMONE STUPID LIKE THAT is suddenly one appendage short.

My, My, My. Hope you like being called "Peg" or "Stumpy" for the rest of your life there, my silly friends!

Lesson to be learned...DON'T FEED THE WILD ANIMALS ANYWHERE! THEY WILL FIND FOOD ON THEIR OWN! ESPECIALLY THE SEAGULLS!

Maybe the Gators will eat all the seagulls. I'd be happy if those overgrown rats with wings wern't dive bombing my ice cream whil I'm trying to watch Cindy's Surprise Celebration.

Grrrr...........

 

[donaldduck1967]

Originally posted by careship
I'll go look next week. I have seen many animals roaming around out there. I still remember going out at night at Fort Wilderness and tiptoeing around to see the Armadillos.

I used to do that all the time at night while walking back from the dock.

 

[lamarvenoy]

About 10 years ago a young girl was attacked by a gator at the water's edge around the Fort Wilderness area(I have more details if anyone is interested) people don't realize that gators are really only dangerous if you are a threat to their nest when they have babies, or they have been fed regularly by people, or you step on one unknowingly, or you are small enough to eat-child sized. I have a respect for gators and a total lack of fear,I can safely approach a 10 foot gator and I have had to swim in waters where I was literally surrounded by them. I was even employed before college as a "Animal Remover" and I have wrestled many both in and out of the water. The sadest is thing is having to shoot one because some ignorant person thought it was cute to feed the gators then called us to remove them because they sat on their back porch waiting for food or ate the dog next door because it didn't fear people's living space anymore. I've killed alot of them and it's sad because they are just dumb animals and people don't respect their habitats or instincts. ........... and they have one hell of a football team GO GATORS!

 

[wiskband]

Originally posted by lamarvenoy
About 10 years ago a young girl was attacked by a gator at the water's edge around the Fort Wilderness area(I have more details if anyone is interested) people don't realize that gators are really only dangerous if you are a threat to their nest when they have babies, or they have been fed regularly by people, or you step on one unknowingly, or you are small enough to eat-child sized. I have a respect for gators and a total lack of fear,I can safely approach a 10 foot gator and I have had to swim in waters where I was literally surrounded by them. I was even employed before college as a "Animal Remover" and I have wrestled many both in and out of the water. The sadest is thing is having to shoot one because some ignorant person thought it was cute to feed the gators then called us to remove them because they sat on their back porch waiting for food or ate the dog next door because it didn't fear people's living space anymore. I've killed alot of them and it's sad because they are just dumb animals and people don't respect their habitats or instincts. ........... and they have one hell of a football team GO GATORS!

I would like more info on that attack.
thanks

 

[MrPromey]

Originally posted by wiskband
nite......... very interesting. Actually i have become very interested and curious about gators since my visit thanks for the info. I still think that Disney would be very concerned with the threat of a gator attacking a guest. I mean their standards are so high in every aspect and they are certainly an easy target for lawsuits you would think that they would do everything possible to keep gators off the property. Any guest has access to the water. although you are not allowed to swim near the marinas I have seen many people including myself go into the shallow water, not to mention the bodies of water located all over the property. thanks again for the info......out it in my favorites and gonna check it out.
:animwink:

The thing is that Disney encompasses about 64 square miles. It is hard to keep gators out of a retention pond half a block in size in the middle of a neighborhood. Keeping them off something the size of Disney all together would be impossible. It probably wouldn’t be entirely desirable either because they are a part of the natural ecosystem here in Florida and large parts of the property are still undeveloped (much of which will always remain that way). Also, alligators come in many sizes. One that is only ten inches long would be a bit difficult to find and catch yet if that guy is health and allowed to grow it is possible that in adulthood he can reach up to seventeen feet in length.

What many people don’t seem to realize is that as with the snakes, panthers and other creatures inhabiting Florida, it is their land we are living on – not the other way around.

Even if Disney did somehow manage to get rid of every gator in property more can swim or walk right back on. These things are all over the place here in Florida. We have retention ponds in the complex where I work and it isn’t that uncommon to have to go around one who is either crossing the road to get from one pond to the other or who thinks he has found a good place to sun bathe. When they get too big someone calls animal control and they come out to relocate them.

My question would be how big are the ones that people are seeing in MK? Are we talking about three or four feet or something big?

 

[MrPromey]

Originally posted by JTFerret
One of my wife's dreams was to see a gator at Disney World (why in the world that was important to her, I'll never know but to each their own). She would look out the window of the monorail to Epcot hoping to catch a glimpse of one by the lakes or as we were driving on the grounds. Well one day we were in the vacation club van going to talk to them about adding some points when she asked the cast member driving if there were ever any gators around. He told her that whenever one was spotted the cast member was supposed to radio it in so that animal control could collect it and put it in the piece of property that Disney maintains as a wetland. He said that all of the pipes that connect alot of the water systems have blocks so large animals can't get through them. This does not stop small creatures, including baby gators, from getting through. I am sure that some of this was guesswork on his part but I thought I'd share it with you just the same.
:sohappy: By the way, my wife got to see a gator in March in Frontierland (probably the same one others have been talking about) :sohappy:

You should have just taken her on the boat ride in the Land. She could have seen a whole bunch of ‘em

 

[disneydentist]

Here's one of them. There were two out in early June when we were there this year. They often had a security guard with them.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

I also saw 2 of them in June when I went...

I'd say one was about 4 1/2 feet and the other was about 6 feet. They were right up against the bridge and yes...people were feeding them It was very cool to see...almost made it seem natural!