See ya later alligator....

...after 'while crocodile!

The trappers (licensed and FWC assigned) came mid-afternoon Wednesday and tried to lure him with a hunk of raw meat, but the gator seemed to know what they were up to and decided he'd rather hide in the muck at the bottom of the pond for a while.

Rather than wait for him to surface, the trappers hung the hooked bait from a cypress limb over the pond, secured the line around the tree trunk, and said they'd return at dusk, unless the gator took the bait before then.

Which he did.

Shortly after the trappers left, the gator came up to the surface, noticed the bait and stared at it (sometimes just inches away) for about an hour before giving into temptation and biting the hook. When one of the trappers returned, he slowly pulled the gator in to the edge of the pond. After several unsuccessful attempts (at least ten), he closed the gator's mouth from under the lower jaw with one hand while holding the line with the other, and then taped the gator's mouth shut. (See video at the end of the post)

Alligators have powerful muscles for biting, but the muscle they use to open their jaw is much weaker. An adult man can hold an alligator's mouth closed with their bare hands.

Though the population of alligators in Florida is not endangered or threatened, it is illegal to trap or kill a nuisance alligator without a permit because the crocodile population is threatened, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is afraid that the general public might harm or kill a crocodile instead of an alligator.

No comment.

Returning to my regularly scheduled programing soon.

Heeeeeeere come the gators...

A few days before my birthday last week we drove to Gainesville to eat peanuts and slather on sunscreen and watch the 4th ranked Gators beat Georgia in baseball.

The weather Friday night was perfect - mild and breezy - even a little chilly at times...

...but Saturday afternoon in Florida's bright sunlight and 90-degree heat was brutal. Before the game on Saturday, we stopped by the campus bookstore to purchase more must-have Gator paraphernalia. Did you know that you can buy packages of "official" eyeblack already printed with "Phil 4:13"? And yes - I bought a pack.

We also stopped by Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, also known as Florida Field and thanks to former coach Steve Spurrier - The Swamp.

It was Coach Spurrier who said ".....a swamp is where Gators live.....a swamp is hot and sticky and can be dangerous. Only Gators get out alive."

Our seats for the baseball game were near the top behind home plate on the 1st base side of the field.

Perfect for capturing that walk-off Gator home run in the bottom of the 9th inning Saturday afternoon.

A couple of days before we left for Gainesville, we discovered this gator swimming in our pond.

We hoped he would move on while we were gone, but two weeks later, it's apparent that he likes Pollywog Creek as much as we do. He's not a big gator. He's young, maybe 4 or 5 years old and about 5 feet in length, it's hard to tell. But a gator is a gator, and like all other gators, this guy has big teeth, a healthy appetite and a less-than-pleasant disposition.

I shot this short video yesterday as he moved from the bank of the pond back into the water...

We have had gators in the pond before, but never one as brazen as this one. He fails to retreat when approached and will actually follow me in the water as I walk around the pond. This gator definitely qualifies as a nuisance gator so we've called for a trapper to remove him.

Stay tuned in. I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll be able to post: Heeeeeeere goes the gator...