Woman in FL gets citation for shooting gator in her yard

Cicero · Post by **Cicero** » Wed May 17, 2006 8:13 pm

NEW PORT RICHEY -- Another day, another alligator encounter in Florida.

A Pasco County sheriff's deputy fired a rifle shot at a 9-foot alligator that wandered into a yard in a suburban neighborhood Monday, trapping a 75-year-old woman in her home. The .223-caliber round pierced the reptile's head, but didn't slow it down.

``It didn't hurt him,'' said Mickey Fagan, a professional gator trapper who arrived a few minutes later. ``It just made him mad.''

Fagan caught the gator on a metal hook, taped its mouth shut and wrestled it into his trailer. It was just another day for the trapper, who says he's killed more than 60 alligators since March 18.

Fagan was back on the job Tuesday in another Pasco neighborhood, trapping an 11-footer that had ventured near some homes.

Calls to the state's nuisance alligator hot line have spiked in recent days, following three fatal attacks in a week. Wildlife officials say gator encounters are becoming more common as the state's population grows and drought sends the reptiles in search of wetter places.

On Sunday near Bradenton, a woman grabbed a handgun and fired four shots at a 3-foot alligator that attacked her golden retriever. The gator wasn't seriously hurt, but the woman got a warning citation for hunting without a license.

Something doesnt seem right here.

patsy stone · Post by **patsy stone** » Wed May 17, 2006 8:21 pm

I keep wondering if they are killing these alligators that attack people. Looks like they are. This makes me kinda sad. :(

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Wed May 17, 2006 8:29 pm

patsy stone wrote:I keep wondering if they are killing these alligators that attack people. Looks like they are. This makes me kinda sad. :(

Should they let them back out?

MuchoBulls · Post by **MuchoBulls** » Wed May 17, 2006 8:31 pm

Every so often alligators are in the pond in my backyard. They are rarely more than 3 -4 feet long and they stay away from the houses. People just have to use common sense around where Gators may be.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Wed May 17, 2006 8:32 pm

BSmack wrote:
patsy stone wrote:I keep wondering if they are killing these alligators that attack people. Looks like they are. This makes me kinda sad. :(
Should they let them back out?

No, just take them out of suburban neighrborhoods and back into natural environments.

MuchoBulls · Post by **MuchoBulls** » Wed May 17, 2006 8:34 pm

BSmack wrote:Should they let them back out?

If they have not attacked anyone, then I don't see why they have to be captured and killed.

The alligators do a very big favor in killing poisonous snakes in the area where I live. I would rather have them do it, then to have to go and kill the snakes myself, which I have done a handful of times.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Wed May 17, 2006 8:35 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:
BSmack wrote:
patsy stone wrote:I keep wondering if they are killing these alligators that attack people. Looks like they are. This makes me kinda sad. :(
Should they let them back out?
No, just take them out of suburban neighrborhoods and back into natural environments.

I'm thinking the reason they are in suburban nieghborhoods and not swamps has something to do with the population of Florida increasing by about 20 million people and 2 million gators in the last 30 years.

Y2K · Post by **Y2K** » Wed May 17, 2006 8:39 pm

Wildlife officials say gator encounters are becoming more common as the state's population grows and drought sends the reptiles in search of wetter places.

I'm thinking that gator aint going to find it in no 75 year old broad, they need to stick to the young fresh meat.

Tiberious · Post by **Tiberious** » Wed May 17, 2006 8:50 pm

Pasco County

that is just as bad as Polk County.

patsy stone · Post by **patsy stone** » Wed May 17, 2006 8:53 pm

BSmack wrote:
MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:
BSmack wrote: Should they let them back out?
No, just take them out of suburban neighrborhoods and back into natural environments.
I'm thinking the reason they are in suburban nieghborhoods and not swamps has something to do with the population of Florida increasing by about 20 million people and 2 million gators in the last 30 years.

Yep. And they are building like crazy here in Jacksonville. Looks like the city doesn't believe in trees or wildlife. I see deer running around my neighborhood all the time looking for refuge from all the new construction around the area. It's getting ridiculous.

Poor deer. Poor gators. Poor trees. :(

And nope, I'm not a treehugger or a nutjob about this stuff. I'm just human and I care about all living creatures.

Except roaches.

PrimeX · Post by **PrimeX** » Wed May 17, 2006 8:59 pm

patsy stone wrote: I care about all living creatures.

You're such the sweetheart.

Tom In VA · Post by **Tom In VA** » Wed May 17, 2006 9:00 pm

Y2K wrote:
Wildlife officials say gator encounters are becoming more common as the state's population grows and drought sends the reptiles in search of wetter places.
I'm thinking that gator aint going to find it in no 75 year old broad, they need to stick to the young fresh meat.

Sick

SunCoastSooner · Post by **SunCoastSooner** » Wed May 17, 2006 10:18 pm

MuchoBulls wrote:Every so often alligators are in the pond in my backyard. They are rarely more than 3 -4 feet long and they stay away from the houses. People just have to use common sense around where Gators may be.

I have seen some huge ones at the local JUCO in Niceville when I have gone to basketball games. They haven't ever harmed anyone that I am aware of.

PSUFAN · Post by **PSUFAN** » Wed May 17, 2006 10:26 pm

When I first visited L.A., I was on Melrose avenue, walking along. At one point I crossed the street, and as I walked over the sewer entrance , I spat a big ball of phlegm down on the pavement.

Lickety-split, about 43 huge cockroaches shot out of the sewer and started snogging on my phlegmball. Those fuckers OWN Hollywood, both below and above ground.

Wolfman · Post by **Wolfman** » Wed May 17, 2006 10:36 pm

From 1948 to 2005, 17 people have been killed by alligators in Florida — about 0.30 deaths per year. In 2006, so far three alligator-related fatalities have occurred — a tenfold increase over the trend. If this keeps up, 30 people will die next year, 300 in 2008, and so forth until in the year 2013 the United States experiences a shocking 300 million deaths by alligator. At that point, we'll be begging for immigrants

--from NRO

Husker4ever · Post by **Husker4ever** » Wed May 17, 2006 10:46 pm

PSUfan.....that was sick as hell! I hate roaches and especially hate roaches "snoggin" on a wad of phlegm. :x

Mississippi Neck · Post by **Mississippi Neck** » Wed May 17, 2006 10:49 pm

MuchoBulls wrote: If they have not attacked anyone, then I don't see why they have to be captured and killed.

After torrential rain two years ago, we had one come on my Aunt's farm in central MS. They've got younguns and small dogs.

We didn't wait for it to attack anyone. I took it out. Sorry.

Adelpiero · Post by **Adelpiero** » Thu May 18, 2006 12:12 am

isn't the law in florida:

if gator is under 6", the trapper or wildlife agents must relocate the gator?

if over 6, a trapper can kill(if liscensed) and use the hide, meat, etc.

MuchoBulls · Post by **MuchoBulls** » Thu May 18, 2006 1:38 am

Tiberious wrote:Pasco County that is just as bad as Polk County.

Excuse you?

Raoul Duke · Post by **Raoul Duke** » Sat May 20, 2006 7:51 pm

I've talked to a lot of Floridians. I'm thinking thinning them out is a good thing.

WolverineSteve · Post by **WolverineSteve** » Sun May 21, 2006 5:21 am

Bunch of pussies. A human is far larger than a gators natural prey. If you aint messing where the gator feels threatened, you are fine. You go sniffing where the gator feeds, all bets are off. I see 10-14 footers every time I hit the links, never even close to an "encounter". Now, if you fuck with a gator in the Everglades, I hope you have your insurance info updated.

Bobby42 · Post by **Bobby42** » Sun May 21, 2006 2:12 pm

WolverineSteve wrote:I see 10-14 footers every time I hit the links, never even close to an "encounter".

Manages to stay on the fairway?