Quote:Not really surprising.  A lot of times, alligator attacks usually aren't about feeding, but about protecting a nest or territory.  If it's about feeding, they'll normally drown their victims to consume later. 

 

Earlier reports indicated they euthanized the alligators they captured so that they could at least eliminate them from consideration for taking the child.  Can't really open one up, and then nurse them back to health afterward. 

 

According to the FWC representative, Disney monitors the activity of alligators on the property, and remove those that appear to be more comfortable around humans.  They either call in a trapper, or they have staff to handle euthanizing them if there's a perceived threat. 

 

As far as being surprised that the alligators would be on Disney property, I think most above have nailed it.  Alligators can be found all over the place in Florida.  If there's water, they somehow find a way there.  I've got good friends who live on a pond in an upscale neighborhood.  They've got some great pictures of alligators wandering up into their yard.  That usually is followed by a call to a trapper to deal with it.  Barriers are only partially effective.  You'd have to build a Trump wall to keep them completely out of an area as alligators will find a way to get into an area if there's food and a water source. 

 

This is a tragic incident where nobody did anything wrong.  It happens.  The lesson here is that it's never completely safe to go near any body of water in Florida after the sun sets because you don't know what's lurking.

 

This is so very true.  There is a small retention pond next to a building that I used to work in at NAS Jax.  The pond is not very big, maybe the size of an average back yard of a typical Florida home.  We had seen a gator in there from time-to-time during the day and watched it grow from a very small maybe 3 feet long to larger.  Mind you, the pond is close to other bodies of water including a golf course and of course the river.  I remember taking a break with a coworker at night, and we walked out near the pond.  As we walked near the pond we heard a rustle in the bushes nearby and a large splash.  Needless to say we got away from the area pretty quickly.  We never actually saw it, but I'm sure it was our gator.

 

Typically they are more afraid of you than you are of them.  I've encountered them on many occasions on many different bodies of water.  Usually they will go away if you get close.  They also don't stay in just one body of water when it comes to ponds or even lakes, they move around and kind of "range".  However, the problem is that people will tend to start feeding them.  When they do that, the gators lose their natural fear of humans.

 

This is a very sad tragedy indeed.  I speculate that the gator that attacked the little boy was probably fed by humans at some point.  Most people in Florida aren't really familiar with how gators are let alone people that visit from places that don't have alligators.  When people from different areas see one, they might be inclined to throw food at it to get a closer look at it, especially if it appears to be a smaller one.

 

I can't imagine how the family must feel right now.  I am thankful that they at least were able to recover the little boy's body intact so that perhaps there could be some closure for them.  We can't fault Disney, we can't pass blame to the family and we certainly can't fault the animal.  It was just an unfortunate tragedy.

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