Now that's a gator

Racerbvd · Racerbvd's Garage

Now that's a gator

This was found between Orlando and Titusville, near a house. How would you like to meet this fella in the dark? Never let it be said that we don't grow them big in Florida .

Game wardens were forced to shoot the alligator- guess he wouldn't cooperate...
Anita and Charlie Rogers could hear the bellowing in the night. Their neighbors had been telling them that they had seen a mammoth alligator in the waterway that runs behind their house, but they dismissed the stories as exaggerations.
"I didn't believe it," Charles Rogers said. Friday they realized the stories were, if anything, understated. Florida Parks and Wildlife game wardens had to shoot the beast. Joe Goff, 6'5" tall, a game warden with the Florida Parks and Wildlife Department, walks past a 23-foot, 1-inch alligator that he shot and killed in their back yard.

widebody911 · widebody911's Garage

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/wcgator.asp

The photograph displayed above is genuine and corresponds to the following account of an alligator killed by game wardens near West Columbia, Texas (a town whose claim to fame is its status as the First Capital of the fledgling Republic of Texas), in April 2005:
Game wardens forced to shoot alligator
Published April 16, 2005

WEST COLUMBIA - Anita and Charlie Rogers could hear the bellowing in the night.

Her neighbors in Bar X Ranch had been telling them they had seen a giant alligator in the bayou that runs behind their house, but they dismissed the stories as exaggerations.

"I didn't believe it," Charles Rogers said. Friday they realized the stories were, if anything, understated. Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens had to shoot the beast.

Jims5543 · 08-07-2006, 12:06 PM

If you have ever been in the everglades you would quickly find out Aligators are FAR from endangered. Overpopulation is an understatement.

An FP&L crew came upon this one about a year ago.

widebody911 · widebody911's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Jim Cesiro
An FP&L crew came upon this one about a year ago.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/culvert.asp

Jims5543 · 08-07-2006, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by widebody911
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/culvert.asp

Thats funny because I actually got this in an E-mail from my uncle who works for FP&L so it duped employees too.

Edit to my caption - Look at the size of this gator.

Jims5543 · 08-07-2006, 12:36 PM

I wish I had the pictures one of our survey crews took in the Everglades back in 1996. There were so many gators out there it was hard for our swamp buggy to get through. When the guys had to drive on quad runners they were scared to death about getting attacked.

The pictures they showed us desk jockeys were crazy. 100's and 100's of them as far as you could see.

charleskieffner · 08-07-2006, 12:44 PM

i'll recant my "i hate rattlesnakes" rant, and now go with "I HATE CROCKY-GATORS!"

if those things lived in the dezert, i'd be freeking carrying ALL OF MY GUNS ALL OF THE TIME! those damn things are HUGE! no wonder golf ball divers at golf courses rack in 100K plus a year! thats some dangerous work!

THAT IS THE BIGGEST LIZARD I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!!

IROC · IROC's Garage

Now, here's a true gator story. Once when I was at KSC (Kennedy Space Center) a guy I work with and I went to check out this story of a gator that lives in one of those drainage canals that criss-cross KSC. We got to the canal and were standing right above a culvert that ran under the road and were looking down the canal for this "supposed" monster. Didn't see a thing. And then I looked down. Not 5 feet away from us (right below us) was this monster gator that was easily 14 feet long.

Freaked me out.

Mike

charleskieffner · 08-07-2006, 02:51 PM

i have seen spagetti western rattlesnakes all wadded up in a ball in a mineshaft out by wickenburg. nothing a few rounds of birdshot wouldnt settle down. but those damn CROCKY-GATORS are NASTY! plus they are an amphibian, land and water. never been near one except for zoo and they were only 3-5 ft. these guys are on steroids or getting a hell of a FOO-FOO DOG AND KAT DIET! or theres alot of missing fisherman or golf ball divers!

brings a whole new meaning to "COME ENJOY THE EVERGLADES" tourist propaganda we see here!

Brian 162 · 08-07-2006, 03:09 PM

I did the tourist thing in July and went to Gatorland in Orlando. Those things are huge. Never seeing one before they are pretty neat to gawk at.

onlycafe · 08-07-2006, 04:30 PM

that is an awful lot of matched luggage and cowboy boots.

JFK713 · JFK713's Garage

those are all trick shots, subject gator way in front with the human in back to change the scale. There are also fake 8 foot rattlesnake images going around the net now. The largest gator recorded was just over 14 feet, believe me, that's a monster. Right now we are looking to import some giant Nile crocs out of Africa, I would rather work the gators, they are pussy cats compared to crocs!

jjwood · jjwood's Garage

Sooo...this isn't a Cayman thread huh.

Jims5543 · 08-07-2006, 06:23 PM

About 16 years ago I went with a client on his airboat into the St. Johns River.

It was about 11 at night and we were going "Gator Grabbin". This seems to be a big redneck pastime and I was about to be initiated.

We wore lights on our heads that were very bright they might have been halogens.

We came upon the 1st gator, his eyes were glowing red like a pair of ping pong balls pinted flourescent red. I reached down and grabbed this sucker and pulled him to my chest in a quick motion, just like they taught me, and put his neck in a headlock and his tail in a... well... tail lock.

He was about 3 feet long and I could feel this little guys strength. We looked at him for a moment and threw him overboard. off to find another.

The next one was about 4 feet long. I grabbed him, pulled him in and held him for about 30 seconds. They actually seemed to like being held and did not fight much. It was weird.

I was told it was time for redneck graduation. We pulled alongside the next one. Eyes were close together, from above water I guessed it to be about 3-4 feet. I was wrong. I reached down and grabbed his neck,....... I could not get my fingers aroufn his neck!!! I let go and jumped back.

I was called a pansy, pussy, and other mean names. (Did I mention we were also friends and I was dating his little sister,.... hmm... he might hae been trying to kill me now tha tI think about it) We circle around and now my friend pulls this gator out. It was over 5 feet long and really pissed off. I was moving quick to the engine to get away from him. That freaked me out.

The next day we went for a ride and we went right over a 12-14 footer we saw it go under the airboat as we were doing 50+ MPH.

These guys were nuts and would take their airboats on land and chase cows. That where the nitrous came in. They ran 6 cylinder Lycoming engines in their airboats with a shot of nitrous for good measure.

We also jigged frogs that night and kept a gator both tasted like chicken.

tdatk · 08-07-2006, 06:52 PM

When I lived in Fla (83-99) I came accross Gators quite often. I lived in Lake County and during mating season the gators would wander lake to lake in search of some strange G/P. On night while riding home on my motorcycle, there was a 12' male in the middle of a 2 lane back road. I didn't have time to swerve and rode right over the snout!!! Good thing I kept my balance as I didn't want to think of what might have been if I laid it down after pizzing him off. Fla is a weird place at times.....

targa911S · 08-07-2006, 07:39 PM

Couple of years ago when I lived in FL, we were coming home one night and I saw something that looked to be the size of a horse across the road. It was a gator that had been hit by a car before me. I stopped and pulled next to it and rolled down the window. Now I was driving a Jag sedan and it was as long as the car I swear. He was still alive and growling very deeply, it was one pissed off lizard. Kinda felt sorry for it.