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Re: [OM] Our own little gator

Subject: Re: [OM] Our own little gator
From: Rick Beckrich <rbeckrich@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2015 10:55:03 -0400
Good move, Chuck. Even Yankees deserve a warning.
Can't tell you how much I miss South Florida - everything but the traffic.
Spent three years commuting from Homestead to the Miami Herald, before the
expressway was built.

On Apr 2, 2015 10:33 AM, "Chuck Norcutt" <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
>
> I remember a similar case when I was working as a volunteer at the
Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.  Some guy brought his friend's Irish
setter to the refuge, totally ignored the warning signs about no pets
allowed and then allowed the dog to splash in the shallow water along the
entrance road.  Our very old, 13 foot guy we called "Sarge" made very short
work of the dog. (Sarge had an old wound on his shoulder that looked like a
sergeant's stripes)
>
> I think I shall have to warn the new (northern) residents who have dogs.
I'm sure not all of them are aware yet that there are gators in the pond.
>
> Chuck Norcutt
>
>
>
> On 4/2/2015 9:28 AM, Charles Geilfuss wrote:
>>
>> Nice capture, Chuck. They have been emerging from their winter nap here
as
>> well. I've seen about a half dozen, mostly 3-4 footers and one six
footer.
>> The small ones are no threat except to frogs and fish. Once they get to
>> five feet, cats and small dogs are at risk. And for the really big ones
any
>> dog is at risk. Last year my neighbor lost his 80 lb. hound to an eight
>> foot gator. He made the mistake of letting the dog off the leash near a
>> large pond. The dog went nosing down by the waters edge and it was over
in
>> a flash. Gators have had many millions of years to perfect their hunting
>> technique and they are very good at it.
>>
>> Charlie
>>
>> On Wed, Apr 1, 2015 at 8:51 PM, Chuck Norcutt <
chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>
>>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> We have a small pond behind our house which, due to the construction of
>>> other new houses around it is pretty muddy.  I had considered it likely
>>> devoid of much life... until the weather started warming up.  Peepers
had
>>> been peeping for months but when the temperature rose last week, as the
>>> night fell, the little guys were joined by a chorus of bull frogs from
the
>>> pond and followed by daytime visits of geese, ducks, herons large and
small
>>> and even a stork.
>>>
>>> Yesterday I spotted a familiar dark object laying low on the water and
>>> another resting on the bank at the end of the pond.  Further
investigation
>>> led me to go grab the E-M1 outfitted with the 75-300 and a monopod.
>>>
>>> This is what I finally shot from about 10 feet at 300mm.  He wouldn't
let
>>> me get any closer than that.  He looks large but he's only about 4 feet
>>> long. You can tell he's young from the yellowish marks on his skin.
He'll
>>> be all black as he get older.  His buddy was playing shy somewhere and I
>>> estimate him at about 5 feet. <http://zone-10.com/tope2/
>>> main.php?g2_itemId=16857>
>>>
>>> This little guy demonstrated some interesting behavior.  At first he
>>> skedaddled when I got about 30 feet away.  But he didn't go very far.  I
>>> approached him again and got to within about 20 feet.  That time he made
>>> himself scarce for a while.  I walked to the other end of the pond and
>>> started looking for the other one.  Then I got distracted wondering if
>>> there might be any snakes in a large pile of (warm) stones designed as a
>>> spillway should the pond overflow.  After a short time I looked up and
saw
>>> the little guy swimming directly at me from some distance away and he
then
>>> made a 90 degree turn and approached the bank of the pond that's near my
>>> house.  I slowly worked my way over there stopping every now and then to
>>> take an ever closer shot.  I finally got the one at the link from about
10
>>> feet away.  When I tried to get even closer still he decided the game
was
>>> over and dove under and away as fast as his tail would take him.
>>>
>>> I saw him and his buddy both again today but didn't have time to go
check
>>> them out.  I hope to play the game again soon to see how close he'll
let me
>>> approach.
>>>
>>> There are also lots of turtles in the 8-12" diameter range.  They like
to
>>> sun themselves on a small concrete culvert that empties into the pond.
>>> They're much more afraid of me than the gators are.  The turtles
skedaddle
>>> as soon as they spot me moving toward them.  It's been hard to get a
good
>>> closeup shot even at 600mm equivalent.
>>>
>>> Chuck Norcutt
>>> --
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>>>
> --
> _________________________________________________________________
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> Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
>
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