We have our first alligator in our lake.
Technically, it's the second. The first one I saw was after we closed on our house but before we moved in.
Hadn't seen any since in the two years plus until Sunday, when I saw it on the lawn across the lake from us (about 200 feet away). Saw it again yesterday swimming around the corner of the lake, about 125-150 feet away.
It's full grown but not huge. Probably 6-7 feet.
I'll admit to being rather conflicted by the situation. On the one hand, alligators absolutely fascinate me. I love them. They're my spirit animal. I actually have dreams about them. Something about them, how they're basically modern day dinosaurs and the thrill and excitement you get when you see them in the wild. And how they're generally lethargic, placid creatures but still have the potential for danger in them. I never not get excited whenever I see an alligator.
On the other hand, we also have a six month old puppy and, well, naturally it makes me a tad bit nervous. Not that I'm not 100% cautious about my surroundings, even before the gator showed up. I never let him roam free. If I'm taking him out back to pee, I have him on a four foot leash, and I never let him get closer than 5 feet to the shoreline. If I'm taking him out in the evening, we have a motion sensor light that immediately turns on with bright stadium like luminescence. I don't go beyond the lit areas to have him do his business and I don't actually put him down until I am sure everything is clear. I'm always prepared to scoop him up on a second's notice if there's the slightest problem.
I've nicknamed the gator Dorian based on recent events. As in I'm fascinated by its powerful nature and all that it symbolizes...but I also would prefer it stay off shore from me and not make landfall where I live.
My only concern is what happens if I come home and Dorian has decided to park himself on my back lawn. I've thought about spraying him with a garden hose in such a situation to coax him back into the lake, but not sure if that would do anything other than annoy him. Or clean him. Or perhaps bang some pots and pans....if anyone here who has lived in Gator country has some tips, I'm more than willing to hear them. (I've read some people have suggested collecting human urine and spraying that around the yard. I'm not at that point yet. Sorry.)
Unless it's an emergency situation, such as Dorian actually making his way into my pool (which is surrounded by a screen) I don't want to call animal control. Alligators are a fact of nature here in Florida and so long as they aren't doing anything to threaten me or my family, I'm going to give him the respect he deserves. My kids know not to go to the edge of the lake unattended and I'm taking all the necessary precautions with the dog, so that should be that.
With that being said, as exciting as it has been having Dorian around for the past couple of days, the best thing for him to do at this point would be to move along to the next lake. I worry if some neurotic snowbird sees Dorian, they'll immediately freak out even if he's doing nothing more than harmlessly swimming in the middle of the lake. And they'll call animal control and because Dorian isn't under 5 feet, it might not be a happy ending to the story. Of course, there are plenty of fish and wildlife around the lake, so Dorian might not really want to leave.
So Dorian, it's been fun seeing you around (as long as you don't bother my family or pet), but for your own sake, you gotta move yourself along.
See ya later, alligator.
= new reply since forum marked as read
We make sure any hanging around we do within 15 feet of the water minimum is unpredictable. They're shy, and have always been easily frightened away, but... They don't sun themselves on our lawn when we're there (we're snowbirds), but our neighbor reports it belongs to one old guy especially, who moves to a nearby island when we arrive.
The people we bought the place from had a swing hanging between two palms right by the water, but I stopped reading there after a neighbor warned me about watching a 10' gator pacing a neighbor as she walked down our lawn, which is only 25' wide from water to the 72-foot-long side of the old mobile home.
We really love the wilderness that starts at the water's edge and continues for miles, and all the wildlife. Good thing because there's no calling anyone to move them out of the wildlife refuge, except possibly a neighbor we suspect of poaching now and then. For sure I never forget to scan first before stepping out onto the patio at night, although it's so far always been clear. And, of course, our cats, who never learned why they should stick to drinking from their bowls inside, were never out alone.
