There is dramatic video of a Florida man who encountered an alligator that had wandered onto his front yard and managed to force it into a trash can, close the lid, and later release it into the wild. A wildlife expert who watched the video said that this was a very bad idea that could have gone terribly wrong in any number of ways with tragic results. He said the best thing to do is get the hell out of there and into your house and call the authorities to take care of the problem.
There are so many news stories and videos of people in Florida encountering alligators that I am beginning to wonder if people who actually live in that state take it in their stride when they see one in their neighborhood, like us with turkeys here in Monterey, giving them a wide berth but not really shocked.
Meh. That’s clearly a ploy from Big Alligator to stop people from doing for themselves what they would otherwise have to pay for.
… wonder if people who actually live in that state take it in their stride when they see one in their neighborhood…
Yes. (In my neighborhood, anyway.)
We do perk up when a monkey descended from those who got loose during the filming of Tarzan movies in the ’30s in the next county to the south shows up.
If you drive around in that part of the country you’ll see many yards enclosed by somewhat odd fences. They have a top part that angles outwards. These are to keep alligators from climbing into the yard and possibly eating the family dog (a favorite activity of alligators) or bathing in the swimming pool and so on. The golf courses often have warning signs about alligators.
Most of the time if you just leave them alone and stay far away you’ll be fine. Some people get in trouble though. Seems to be a human thing.
It’s not as dangerous as a bear, given the limited vertical mobilty. But this is likely how some of those people died (re: killer animals).