Alligators
Alligators, palm trees, and oranges have long symbolized Florida. Unlike palm trees and oranges, alligators have teeth which tend to create fear due to a lack of understanding. The truth is that alligators and humans have coexisted for centuries. As long as they both respect each other, they get along fine. Once on the endangered species list, alligators have made a remarkable rebound.
In Florida, Alligators prefer ponds, lakes, and slow moving rivers. They are cold-blooded reptiles preferring fresh water. You can typically see them with just their head floating on the surface of the water or sunning themselves on the bank of a body of water. Seeing alligators is a treat but should be done from a distance. For a short distance, an alligator can run 30 mph but only in a straight line.
Alligators can range in size from a cute 8 inches at birth to 15 feet in the wild and weighing up to 1000 pounds. Living 30-40 years in the wild, alligators lay about 20-40 eggs, about half of which hatch in about 65 days. The hatchlings occur from mid August to early September during which the female alligators guard the nest and do get protective. Alligators primary diet includes fish, turtles, frogs, snakes, birds, raccoons, otters, deer, and even other small alligators. They can defer eating for several months at a time.
Alligators have an acute sense of smell, hearing, and can detect the smallest vibrations in the water. They can remain underwater for several hours at a time or 20 minutes if actively swimming and hunting.
There are a few common sense rules for alligators.
1. Do not feed alligators. It is ILLEGAL to feed alligators. Feeding alligators tends disrupt their natural fear of man and has resulted in inappropriate behavior.
2. Give them space. Like any wild animal, they can be unpredicatable. Observe them from a safe distance.
3. Keep children and pets away from the water’s edge. Alligators can mistake children and pets for prey and therefore children and pets should not be allowed to play by the edges of ponds, lakes, and rivers.
Summary: Buying a home on a pond, lake or fresh water river does add value and beauty to your investment. Waterfront properties are coveted and desirable. Having an alligator in your back yard pond is no reason for concern. Most remain a modest size. Alligators are not the aggressive man-eaters you saw in old Tarzan movies but do deserve the same respect that you would give to any other wild animal.
