Here’s a little something we never have to contend with in New Jersey. But even in Florida–willya look at the size of that gator!
Note that the alligator, for all its bulk, walks with its belly high up off the ground. The man with the camera might have a few anxious moments if he reflected that even very large gators are capable of short bursts of real speed. At that distance, the gator could catch the man if he really wanted to. Just a little somethin’ to think about…
Good thing that gator wasn’t hungry.
Yeah, I was thinking that the man taking the video was crazy for standing as close as he was. That alligator is huge.
Holy smokes! That was one big gator.
I have no first-hand experience with alligators, but the photographer seems to be pushing his luck, if you ask me.
He’d never get away, if it charged him from that distance.
Not a lesson one would care to learn the hard way.
That’s for sure! People don’t realize it, but gators can move about 30 mph on land – faster than we can run!
One year, when my granddaughter was in about the 5th grade, a gator was found napping on the school grounds. Several of the children – my granddaughter among them, much to my chagrin! – decided it would be a fun thing to ‘pet’ the gator, which they did with no problems. Thank God! It was a few years later when she finally awoke to the precariousness of the situation.
That’s scary, but at least it worked out well.
Reptiles tend to be unpredictable. I’ve heard tales of people befriending Mohave Rattlers in this area and living peacefully with these very deadly snakes. That’s just fine, but the one time it doesn’t work as planned one may well not survive to tell the tale. I’ve learned to cut them a wide berth.
Wow, now there’s a real live monster! Ah Florida, how I love you, rattlers, moccasins, gators, black widows, hurricanes, and all. LOL
I don’t think that there’s a creature on earth that more aptly fits the description of “monster” than the crocodilians. As I understand it, they are not mindless killers, but they are nothing to trifle with. My only encounter was holding a baby caiman, which was small enough to be essentially harmless, but that was a temporary situation that it would soon grow out of.
Maybe the Kimoto dragon 🙂
Good point. They are pretty scary in their own right.