The body of the baby snatched by an alligator in Orlando has been found :(

FireDragon76 said:

Here in Florida it is safer to bet there are alligators in any body of water, and they are especially active in the summer (because they are cold blooded).

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But the fact that Disney did not post warnings is astonishing. Nobody would expect alligators at Disney world, one cannot blame the family for not anticipating alligators.

Another issue is that our water here in the summer gets too hot in most lakes, and there can be brain-eating amoebas and other deadly infections in the water. It's why a lot of people have swimming pools, because most of the water here is just not safe to be in.

FireDragon76 said:

Another issue is that our water here in the summer gets too hot in most lakes, and there can be brain-eating amoebas and other deadly infections in the water. It's why a lot of people have swimming pools, because most of the water here is just not safe to be in.

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Brain-eating amoebas?!!

Goonie said:

Brain-eating amoebas?!!

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Yeah. If the water is warm enough and not moving fast enough, the amoebas breed in the muddy bottom of the water. If you swim in a warm pond or body of water down here, they could get up in your nose and into your brain. The sad thing is that an infection feels just like the flu (so it's often not noticed), and once it reaches that stage, it is usually untreatable and fatal. It's not too common down here but once in a while it happens.

People that have lived here for a long time are usually aware of the hazards- Florida is semi-tropical and we have more of the hazards you'ld expect in a tropical area than the rest of the US. Maybe more should be done to make tourists aware. I think its like in the movie Jaws, a lot of businesses don't want the government to be screaming about brain eating amoebas and alligators because it could drive away tourists. People come here to have fun and any hint of "caution" can be a buzzkill.

If you stay away from the water down here mostly you are safe, as alligators are extremely lazy for the most part and won't usually travel far from water. Unfortunately, the Disney area near Kissimmee has a lot of water. It's basically reclaimed swamp and there is water everywhere (which is why Disney bought the land, because it was so cheap).

Another reason not to go near water are the plentiful cottonmouths or water moccasins. Those snakes can be somewhat aggressive and they live in and near water.

Cimorene said:

I have a question that might be dumb..... If the lagoon at Disney is man-made how did the alligators even get there? How come they weren't all removed from the lagoon?

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It's connected to larger, open bodies of water via canals and other waterways. Besides that, alligators can walk. Everyone knows gators are a problem in Florida, especially in lakes, ponds, etc. in the summer. Just because a nice resort was built on top of the animal's habitat doesn't mean the animals leave. Disney has no control over what comes into their lagoon.

BeachSun said:

Comforter come to this family.

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Amen.

Cimorene said:

I have a question that might be dumb..... If the lagoon at Disney is man-made how did the alligators even get there? How come they weren't all removed from the lagoon?

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Good question.

Why ARE there even alligators at Disney World?

willowsbible said:

God rest his soul.

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Amen.

brinny said:

Good question.

Why ARE there even alligators at Disney World?

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The waterways in Florida lead into lagoons and lakes on properties. People have even reported alligators in their pools in Florida. They can scent the water even when it is chlorinated. All they're doing is looking for relief from the heat being they're with reptilian skin it suffers the heat even when they're cold blooded.

Even man made installations of lakes on a private resort property would possibly draw alligators in. It's their native habitat after all.

That's why resorts have to be vigilant and in the case of Disney World they were highly negligent in this case. Especially with all the reports prior to this tragedy about alligators in the waters there.

willowsbible said:

The waterways in Florida lead into lagoons and lakes on properties. People have even reported alligators in their pools in Florida. They can scent the water even when it is chlorinated. All they're doing is looking for relief from the heat being they're reptilian skin suffers the heat even when they're cold blooded.

Even man made installations of lakes on a private resort property would possibly draw alligators in. It's their native habitat after all.

That's why resorts have to be vigilant and in the case of Disney World they were highly negligent in this case. Especially with all the reports prior to this tragedy about alligators in the waters there.

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yeah, there should at least be signs?

Tragic.

brinny said:

yeah, there should at least be signs?

Tragic.

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You'd think right?
Expert Believes Tourists May Have Played Role In Bringing Alligator To Shore Before Toddler Was Killed

willowsbible said:

You'd think right?
Expert Believes Tourists May Have Played Role In Bringing Alligator To Shore Before Toddler Was Killed

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Disney's not acknowledging that they have a problem here, and that it was their negligence? One wonders how many other such incidents occurred....

The problem, apparently being that nature exists and man can't control it.

Caitlin.ann said:

The problem, apparently being that nature exists and man can't control it.

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how does what you posted relate to this:

The body of the baby snatched by an alligator in Orlando has been found

The only thing that keeps the alligator population down is hunting- they are reptiles and normally their population will explode on its own, and they'll even eat each other. Unfortunately, so much of their habitat has been taken by human beings (a lot of Florida has been lost to development), these sorts of conflicts are almost inevitable.

They said on the local news the lagoon had "No Swimming" signs posted around the water.

FireDragon76 said:

The only thing that keeps the alligator population down is hunting- they are reptiles and normally their population will explode on its own, and they'll even eat each other. Unfortunately, so much of their habitat has been taken by human beings (a lot of Florida has been lost to development), these sorts of conflicts are almost inevitable.

They said on the local news the lagoon had "No Swimming" signs posted around the water.

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Are you suggesting that Disney have hunters available to take out any gators?

No, I don't think Disney should hunt alligators normally. They are just part of nature here, and mostly they don't bother people. Every place in the US has its unique hazards.

The lagoons and small ponds in Central Florida for the most part are for drainage of storm water, not swimming. When you reclaim swampland in an area that has seasonal monsoon-like rains (the summer in Florida alternates between sunny and very bad storms), that's what you have to do.

A keystone species in its native habitat is never a "problem." It's the human population that wants the wildlife to clear out so they can have their good time that is the problem.

I live an hour south of the largest state park in the country, bigger than Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon put together, 6 million acres of both public and private lands. You want to live or go there for recreational purposes, it's up to you to take precautions in the event that you encounter a wild animal.