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Homeowner's Pet Killed by Gator
Posted on Dec 2nd, 2013
The Homeowner whose dog was out in the yard of her home, which borders a pond in the community, to go to the bathroom, as it had done each day for years. During this particular instance, however, the owner’s dog was running around and very close to the water. In a matter of seconds, an alligator came out of the pond, clamped its jaws on the 40-pound dog and pulled it under the surface of the pond.
Our thoughts go out to that reader and her family.
Following the incident, members of Florida’s Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) came and removed two large alligators from ponds inside the community. A “nuisance” gator is an alligator that exceeds four feet in length that poses a direct threat to people, their pets, or their property.
According to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), more than 7,000 gators are rounded up by SNAP each year. Although the American alligator is a “threatened” species and federally protected, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service does allow state-approved management and control programs, like SNAP, to remove these nuisance gators.
“It’s so important to never feed gators,” says Beryl Martin, an officer of FWC. Martin explains that gators will regularly return to areas where they have been fed and will begin to associate people with food.
FWC also advises not to let pets — especially dogs or cats because of their similarity in size to an alligators’ natural prey — play or swim near areas where gators may linger, which usually is any body of fresh or brackish water, much like the retention ponds in many New Tampa and Wesley Chapel communities. Also, alligators are the most active between dusk and dawn, so FWC advises against swimming at night. However, alligators are most active during the warmer months.
To report nuisance alligators, call 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286). For more information and additional alligator safety tips, please visit MyFWC.com.
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