Florida Scene Boyd Hill

nature article Earl Plato
A trip to the Toronto Zoo or the Buffalo Zoo helps one to refresh memories. Here is one of those flashbacks that stand out in my nature recollections.
As we drove east from the Boyd Hill Nature Sanctuary in St. Petersburg, Florida we came to a municipal golf course. I looked to my left in the concrete floodway that ran through the course. There was an eight foot or so alligator basking in the sunlight of the shallow water. Remember this wasn’t a private course so I guess he felt at home. A police car was at the scene. Apparently the “gator’s” presence had been reported.
Why was he here? It is illegal anywhere in Florida to feed alligators. They are usually fearful of people., however, they can become attracted to people, IF FED. Once an alligator loses its natural fear of humans it becomes an aggressive and potentially dangerous nuisance. We heard later on T-V that the alligator was caged and removed to a more natural location. Can you imagine some lousy Canadian golfer like me trying to fish his ball out of that ditch! I wouldn’t be looking for just its nose, eyes and a bit of its back.
The American alligator (mississippiensis) has a record reported length of nineteen feet two inches. Wow! Most measure six to eight feet as the one we had just seen. At this point of an alligator wandering onto a golf course something had to be done to protect unsuspecting people and it was. Later in the week we drove through Ding Darling Nature Refuge on Sanibel Island in southern Florida.. This time we saw plenty of alligators as we drove through the refuge. Here is the write-up we received. “Hundreds of tough, dark-colored, rectangles form the alligator’s protective hide... Its food is fish, turtles, raccoons. egrets, herons, anhingas and other animals.” Did it say herons. My camera caught one of the Great blue herons walking around a good-sized alligator as it lay basking on the bank. I found it hard to comprehend how a “gator” could move fast enough. Read on.
“Behavior: Being able to produce speeds on land of up to 10 m.p.h. for short distances, the alligator may jump its prey or quietly stalk an unsuspecting “critter.” Do not get any closer than 15 feet to an alligator.” That blue heron was within 10 feet!
We looked for worn spots on the bank of this fresh water stream which alligators prefer. These large spots indicate a favourite sunning spot. Yes, there were a number on their “spots” sunning themselves and two floating like old logs on the surface of the calm water.
Female alligators build big mounds of vegetation in which to bury their eggs. The sun then incubates the eggs. When the young hatch, the mother protects them for several months. We looked down a side trail and found some yellow-striped baby “gators” just off the edge of the thick vegetation. We weren’t the only ones interested in seeing alligator offspring. But wait! Where was the mother? The other curious camera people stayed and I decided at my age can I run 10 m.p.h. any more? This was truly alligator country and I respect their sovereignty, eh! Back to the car.
nature article Earl Plato
A trip to the Toronto Zoo or the Buffalo Zoo helps one to refresh memories. Here is one of those flashbacks that stand out in my nature recollections.
As we drove east from the Boyd Hill Nature Sanctuary in St. Petersburg, Florida we came to a municipal golf course. I looked to my left in the concrete floodway that ran through the course. There was an eight foot or so alligator basking in the sunlight of the shallow water. Remember this wasn’t a private course so I guess he felt at home. A police car was at the scene. Apparently the “gator’s” presence had been reported.
Why was he here? It is illegal anywhere in Florida to feed alligators. They are usually fearful of people., however, they can become attracted to people, IF FED. Once an alligator loses its natural fear of humans it becomes an aggressive and potentially dangerous nuisance. We heard later on T-V that the alligator was caged and removed to a more natural location. Can you imagine some lousy Canadian golfer like me trying to fish his ball out of that ditch! I wouldn’t be looking for just its nose, eyes and a bit of its back.
The American alligator (mississippiensis) has a record reported length of nineteen feet two inches. Wow! Most measure six to eight feet as the one we had just seen. At this point of an alligator wandering onto a golf course something had to be done to protect unsuspecting people and it was.
Later in the week we drove through Ding Darling Nature Refuge on Sanibel Island in southern Florida.. This time we saw plenty of alligators as we drove through the refuge. Here is the write-up we received. “Hundreds of tough, dark-colored, rectangles form the alligator’s protective hide... Its food is fish, turtles, raccoons. egrets, herons, anhingas and other animals.” Did it say herons. My camera caught one of the Great blue herons walking around a good-sized alligator as it lay basking on the bank. I found it hard to comprehend how a “gator” could move fast enough. Read on.
“Behavior: Being able to produce speeds on land of up to 10 m.p.h. for short distances, the alligator may jump its prey or quietly stalk an unsuspecting “critter.” Do not get any closer than 15 feet to an alligator.” That blue heron was within 10 feet!
We looked for worn spots on the bank of this fresh water stream which alligators prefer. These large spots indicate a favourite sunning spot. Yes, there were a number on their “spots” sunning themselves and two floating like old logs on the surface of the calm water.
Female alligators build big mounds of vegetation in which to bury their eggs. The sun then incubates the eggs. When the young hatch, the mother protects them for several months. We looked down a side trail and found some yellow-striped baby “gators” just off the edge of the thick vegetation. We weren’t the only ones interested in seeing alligator offspring. But wait! Where was the mother? The other curious camera people stayed and I decided at my age can I run 10 m.p.h. any more? This was truly alligator country and I respect their sovereignty, eh! Back to the car.
Writer’s Note: Often the American alligator is confused with the long, pointed-nosed crocodile of Africa and South America. The alligator has a rounded nose. So?