Are There Really Alligators Down Here?
Last week I was showing homes to a couple from California. They were interested in golf club communities, so we were looking at properties in several of Ponte Vedra Beaches’ beautiful gated communities. The wife giggled when she saw a sign posted by a large lake that said “Please Don’t Feed the Alligators”. She asked if the warning on the sign was legitimate. Well, what can I say, but “YES”!
As a Florida native I’ve grown up knowing that where there is a body of fresh water there are most probably alligators. Usually, the old adage “they’re more afraid of you than you are of them” holds true, but not always. Alligators, which are native inhabitants in the southeast, are usually afraid of people and aren’t normally a threat. However, as people encroach on their natural habitats, they are coming into contact with humans on a very regular basis. Feeding any wild animal reduces their fear of humans. This is especially true of alligators—hence the sign I mentioned above.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) operates the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP—get it?). When a Florida resident has a nuisance alligator on their property they can call 1-866-392-4286 and ask to have the animal removed. The FWC has contracts with licensed trappers and last year they issued 11,000 permits and over 8,000 alligators were removed. To be considered a nuisance, the alligator generally has to be larger than 4 feet (big enough to pose a threat to people, pets and livestock). So what happens to the offending ‘gator? Well, they must be killed and ususally becomes the trapper’s main compensation. The alligator hide and meat can be sold for a profit.
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