Alligator response while in a kayak?

[Pskhaat]

So today with my 3yo son in the bow of a sit-on-top sea kayak, we're going through basically a swamp at high tide watching these amazingly large birds in the treetops.

Alligator-Ho! A big old guy maybe 6-7 feet looks right at us mouth ajar and slides into the channel, couldn't have been more than 5-10 yards away. Don't think about asking me for pictures.

My fight or flight heart rate shoots up and I slowly tell my son to sit back.

What do you do now?

 

[Layonnn]

So today with my 3yo son in the bow of a sit-on-top sea kayak, we're going through basically a swamp at high tide watching these amazingly large birds in the treetops.

Alligator-Ho! A big old guy maybe 6-7 feet looks right at us mouth ajar and slides into the channel, couldn't have been more than 5-10 yards away. Don't think about asking me for pictures.

My fight or flight heart rate shoots up and I slowly tell my son to sit back.

What do you do now?

haha, living in louisiana and being an avid wakeboarder, i have seen my fair share. If they think they are hidden, they might not move if you approach. If they are in the open and you approach, they go under. I have never seen one approach a boat/kayak/canoe. As long as im in some kind of boat, i don't mind them at all.

Seeing your location, where were you at where there was a gator???

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Better you then me:Wow1: alligators scare the crap out of me even at the Zoo.

When they paint the wall in the alligator pit at the Phoenix Zoo they send two guys in the boat one with a roller and one with a bat. HTH

 

[HarryT]

I've only heard of one gator bumping a kayak and that was in the Everglades.
I paddle around them all the time here in SC with no trouble.
Crocodiles will get you out of a canoe so be very wary around them.

 

[Pskhaat]

Call me a desert boy then Though I'm an avid sailor and islander, I admit it was my first time as close as that, and especially with the 3yo one takes extra precautions I guess.

 

[HarryT]

I'm glad you are careful. If your child fell in the water the gator would probably attack. Especially if it has been fed by people. You can't be too careful!

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Wow! Glad you made it!


Now.....

We all need to email "Spot". And tell them they need a new "Threat Level Alert Button".....!

Threat Level Alert #1 ....Alligators and Grizzlys....!

What's #2....?



.:elkgrin:

 

[Pskhaat]

What's #2....?

Mud.

 

[whatcharterboat]

I have never seen one approach a boat/kayak/canoe. As long as im in some kind of boat, i don't mind them at all.

Haha. Layonnn, unfortunately this philosophy doesn't work here in OZ. I wish it it did. Believe me I REALLY wish it did.

 

[telwyn]

We see lots of them here in FL when we go paddling - Hillsborough River, Everglades, etc. I'm both terrified and intrigued by them, but they either completely ignore you or they slip under the water and wait for you to leave.

Definitely intimidating though particularly when you're in a kayak and low to the water.

Slept on Sweetwater Chickee one night in the Everglades and it was wild at night - you could shine your flashlight 360 degrees around the chickee and all you saw were alligator eyes shining back at you.

 

[Layonnn]

Haha. Layonnn, unfortunately this philosophy doesn't work here in OZ. I wish it it did. Believe me I REALLY wish it did.

I remember watching Steve Irwin one day and he said a quote that i will never forget, It wasn't this exactly but as best as i can remember
"I like crocs more than i like people. At least with a croc, you know he wants to kill you, you can't tell with a person"

Crocs and alligators have such a different temper. Alligators try to escape the situation at all costs unless it is a female and you are near her eggs.
Crocs will just flat out try and eat you all the time no matter what. That pic looks like a croc to me.

There have been a few attacks recently in Florida and actually one within the past year about 30 minutes from me. Lesson to be learned, don't sit/walk/run near the shore line where gators live.
I bet the gators put up this sign :wings:

 

[whatcharterboat]

I remember watching Steve Irwin one day and he said a quote that i will never forget, It wasn't this exactly but as best as i can remember
"I like crocs more than i like people. At least with a croc, you know he wants to kill you, you can't tell with a person"

Crocs and alligators have such a different temper. Alligators try to escape the situation at all costs unless it is a female and you are near her eggs.
Crocs will just flat out try and eat you all the time no matter what. That pic looks like a croc to me.

There have been a few attacks recently in Florida and actually one within the past year about 30 minutes from me. Lesson to be learned, don't sit/walk/run near the shore line where gators live.
I bet the gators put up this sign

Layonn, Of course you are absolutely correct in everything you said. I just couldn't resist posting the pic.

Very sad about Steve Irwin. I've been surfing with him a few times. That was other passion. He didn't live far from me and also I know the reef where he was killed well. He might have been a crazy showman in front of the camera but "Crikey" was always a gentleman in person.

 

[CharlieV]

[/QUOTE]

Before I read the text I was saying to myself "only in Australia!"

I have ridden (horseback) within 20 feet of a large (10+') gator in south Fl. The first time I accidentally spooked him/her as we were galloping along the trail next to a canal. On the way back, it was in the exact same spot and didn't move at all as we walked by. I have had the pleasure of getting very close to many wild animals I couldn't otherwise while on a horse.

I must admit, staying in the saddle was my primary objective in the event my horse decided he wanted out of that situation quickly. Unfortunately, a month or so later, I was riding down the same canal only to find another, smaller gator, dead, missing its tail maybe 100 yards from where I had seen the larger one. Seeing it bloated, missing its tail and discarded definitely made me mad to be a member of the human race, the horse had no comment.

 

[Nullifier]

So today with my 3yo son in the bow of a sit-on-top sea kayak, we're going through basically a swamp at high tide watching these amazingly large birds in the treetops.

Alligator-Ho! A big old guy maybe 6-7 feet looks right at us mouth ajar and slides into the channel, couldn't have been more than 5-10 yards away. Don't think about asking me for pictures.

My fight or flight heart rate shoots up and I slowly tell my son to sit back.

What do you do now?

My first reaction is to say you need to contact your local game and fish or DNR folks so that it can be trapped since alligators do not range any further west then south east Texas. This one is obviously one somebody cought and brought home. Then it got to big to handle and was released. These types of gators can be dangerous to humans since they have been fed by people and associate us as a food source. Once that connection is made they will approach for handouts when hungry.

Now as far as alligators with the mouth open this is a common thing. I see this regularly in my "office" on the river. This should only be seen as a sign of aggression if they are hissing at the same time. Otherwise it is a body temp regulation thing. On our river trips we run within 10' of gators all the time with no problem. I am regularly in the water with gators near me while I am working on fallen trees or other river obstuctions. I do not even give it a second thought.

The real stats on alligator attacks is as follows. Since 1948, there have been more than 275 attacks on humans in Florida, of which only 17 (over 61 years!!!) resulted in death. Most of these "attacks" were human error on some level. The media swarms in gets everyone all scared however since they year 2000 there have been an average of 26 fatalities per year by dogs but not to many people seemed to be concerend with that when they are out in parks and places.

 

[Nullifier]

Awesome pic. Reminds me of a place called shark valley on the east side of the everglades national park. A narrow paved trail they the gators come up on in the winter to warm up. You literally walk or ride you bike around them with in 1-3'. Very cool place.

And remember it's not the ones you see that you have to worry about!