YIKES! OH My Goodness ... Jay, that is one big Gator, looks to be a 10 - 12 footer, and quite hefty too! I shudder to think of anyone swimming in canals or fresh water lakes here in Florida because there are gators in most waterways here. I've even heard of them being found in the brackish water (part salt/part fresh) water where the fresh water rivers flow into the Atlantic Ocean. We have sharks too and hear of shark bites every year (usually surfers) but at least with sharks you have to go out a little ways in the water to be bitten! Gator's are found in very shallow water and on land along the waterways! Many years ago my husband and friends used to waterski in lakes that were infested with gator's, and many people still do which is not too smart in my opinion! People here know to keep small children and pets away from area's with known gator populations. I've read of many a small pet being snatched from a backyard by a gator. One of our local t.v. news anchors has a labrador that was attacked by a gator in their backyard a few years ago but luckily the gator let go and the dog survived. I guess gators can travel some distances too, especially during mating season. I've always wondered about the fact that when there's new construction here in Florida, they dig those man made retention ponds for drainage and gators always find their way to those ponds and take up residence!
Two years ago I went to the Orlando airport with my best friend to pick up company she had coming in from California. One of lady had never been to Florida but had heard about all the alligators here and was asking about them. When we left the airport we were driving across a low bridge over a lake known to have the highest concentration of gators in Florida ... and you can see them in the water, sometimes a few, sometimes many gators! The lady really freaked out when she saw a few of them in the water and we confirmed that yes, those were alligators!
