New neighbor

[pilot-in-fla]

 

[pilot-in-fla]

He is a Dandy all right. I went out later with the better camera to get more pictures but he was in the water but for a bit of his tail. There was a much smaller gator near by. Big lake so surely a lot of gators but the first time seeing one of this size.

 

[NVGator]

And you were wondering what happened to yor pet turkey?

 

[pilot-in-fla]

And you were wondering what happened to yor pet turkey?

Yeah, lesson learned in that regard. Dictum to girl friend -- no more turkeys.

The chickens are smart enough to go into cover at night, the guinea fowl can fly high enough to stay out of trouble but the turkeys aren't smart enough to find a safe area and aren't good enough flyers to stay out of trouble.

The big gator was on the other side of the canal yesterday. I need to see if he is there again today and, if so, I need to talk to the land owner as his permission will be needed if I am to report it as a nuisance alligator.

 

[pilot-in-fla]

He might control the wild turkey population .

I doubt it. The wild turkeys are better flyers and probably smarter than the turkeys we had.

 

[AlexDaGator]

Alex.

 

[pilot-in-fla]

Here's the new neighbor in a more formal portrait...

 

[pilot-in-fla]

Smile

 

[URGatorBait]

Well, he just wants to make sure you know what message board you're on

 

[grengadgy]

 

[pilot-in-fla]

My girl friend is demanding revenge in the form of a Alligator bag.

 

[pilot-in-fla]

Here's the "baby" that hangs around in the same area. All pictures are from the other side of a canal, about 80 feet distant.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Make him a handbag, belt, whatever, now.

 

[itsgr82bag8r]

Dictum to girl friend -- no more turkeys.

 

[78]

No way I'd want that around my house. PIF, are you ask the county to remove it?

 

[pilot-in-fla]

No way I'd want that around my house. PIF, are you ask the county to remove it?

The state will remove it if requested but they need permission to go on private lands. In this case, the gator has not come onto my property but sits on a neighbor's lot across a canal when it chooses. The neighbor hasn't been there since we've observed the gator. If they don't come back soon, I can write them a letter.

I do think the gator poached my turkey but, in the gator's defense, the turkey was on a small limb several feet over the water and only about 2 feet above it. We couldn't get to the turkey or cause it to move as it was dark so there it was. In the same area were five guinea fowl and those are just fine.

We went over there the other day to get some pictures from a different angle. When we were about 80 feet from the gator, he headed out into the water. So I don't consider him aggressive. Also, when he is on the bank, he has been surrounded by up to 20 Ibises and, again, no aggressive actions were noted.

The lake I am on is tens of thousand of acres so it is filled with gators, fish and who knows what else. Nearby is another huge area called Potts Preserve which is filled with hogs and other land animals. We've spotted bobcats, foxes and deer on occasion in addition to the usual raccoons and possums. We have too many cats to make a good environment for rabbits -- one of our cats used to kill squirrels every now and then and, every now and then, they bring us a mole or other rodent.

 

[MJMGator]

Good looking gator.

 

[oxrageous]

That is one seriously healthy gator. He's eating well.

 

[pilot-in-fla]

Look at how shiny he is and look at his teeth. He is a magnificent creature.

We haven't seen him the last few days as there has been little sun. I suspect that if the -people who occupy that property show up, he'll go elsewhere to sun himself. There are many little unoccupied islands that he could use.

We had a couple of pictures of him cruising in the canal. I'll try to post one later.

 

[pilot-in-fla]

Here he is making his escape when we approached him from the land side. The far bank is part of my property. We have a huge amount of water frontage and a lot of it is obscured by brush like this.