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#1097254
Simbaah
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Feeding gators turns them into man eaters, fact or misconception? 
I know feeding gators leads to many problems and should never be done with wild gators but I’m not sure about that turning them into man eaters. What about peoples captive gators? Ive seen plenty of feeding shows in person and on television and when you see people feeding gators they seem to come up slowly and almost submissively and wait for the food and after eating it they patiently wait for more and then when feeding is over they submerge BUT when you see people feeding crocodiles they take the food and then they try to take the person as well, they come out the water and chase the feeder down and try to kill and eat them but gators act like dogs giving them that puppy dog face as if to say please give me more. Now I know people have been attacked by and killed by gators from time to time but people also get bit by any kind of dog from time to time.Thats just a metephore but anyways I read an old post and some lady that goes by the name celtic tigress was able to explain it alot better than others why feeding wild gators causes problems, she basically said that they start coming up to humans and the people think the gator is trying to eat them and they shoot them and or little kids try to pet them and get killed or hurt so feeding them causes problems and should never be done but from what I get from that is that feeding alone doesn’t turn them into man eaters or rather (man hunters) there are particularly two species known to be man hunters, the salt water and nile crocodiles. Now dont confuse this post, I am not at all defending the act of feeding wild gators, I speak on behalf of those who have captive gators. Alot of people have close relationships with thier gators and I have seen people feed gators and they seem to be submissive normally and not occasionally. I would never actually trust a gator, but then again I would trust a gator before trusting another human lol and thats real cuz I know what they will do but theres no tellin with people. But in conclusion my humble opinion is that for (alligators) the act of feeding them does not turn them into man hunters. I would say wether you feed them or not you CAN still be killed but alligators would not be the species to label a man hunter/eater.......Others may have other opinions but this is mine. Peace
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12/16/06 04:48pm
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#1747124
Al owens
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Message To: Simbaah In reference to Message Id: 1097254
Feeding gators turns them into man eaters, fact or misconception?
working with wild gators for over 12 yrs, i know if they are feed, they know people will always feed them, if you don’t have food, you are the food, this is why all gators caught in fl, over 6 ft are killed, in fl, every canal is full Oscars, piranhas and every fish you can think of,
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05/26/08 03:37pm
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#1747753
Aquasquid69
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Message To: Al owens In reference to Message Id: 1747124
 Feeding gators turns them into man eaters, fact or misconception?
so then with captive does it make a difference feeding live or frozen because someone had told me dont feed my gator live because it will make him more aggressive how much truth is in that because i have been trying frozen thawed but he just really does not seem interested in it and normaly when i throw a live mouse in there he gets it pretty quick??
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05/27/08 03:09am
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#1747963
CelticTigeress
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Message To: Aquasquid69 In reference to Message Id: 1747753
Feeding gators turns them into man eaters, fact or misconception?
Wild Gators and Tame are still Gators.. the problem with the wild is that when people feed them, the alligator begins to lose its fear of Man. the gators become more aggressive and instead of seeing Man as a ’threat’ they begin to see them as a way to not hunt food providers... this becomes a problem when an alligator gets to big, it approaches for food and people assume the alligator will eat them. Now there HAVE been cases where someone has been attacked, primarily due to Man moving into their areas alligators begin to lose their habitat and people assume the alligators are moving in on THEIR territory when its a reverse role... you also have idiots freeing their own gators that get to big and thus no fear and the gator is likely to attack assuming food...I have swam in plenty of gator inhabited areas (thats primarily anywhere in Fl) and have been left alone and I have left alone and been fine.... My Dad my brothers.. but then again this was in a time when people didnt make it a point to feed them, I think the worst situation we had was calves being drug into the canals for a quick meal, but then again it wasnt a person....what it breaks down to is Man moves into their territory.... Man feeds them and that natural fear of man is lost they no longer see man as a threat but as a food giver and in some cases.. food...though it is due to the constant doling out of meals because people think feeding them is cute, it teaches them its okay... Gators are sorely misunderstood by the ’biped world’ I believe that people want to believe their images of them being mean and nasty maneaters because they dont want to feel guilty for the damn near eradication of the species back then and now with the put down of larger ones that really werent hurting anyone "Oh its 6ft and in a pool lets kill it" the more that man destroys their habitat the more they move in, all they want is water their pond was likely paved over.. I mean there are so many arguements its debatable
Onto topic two...Animals that are meant to be ’wild’ will always have that natural uncanny instinct to hunt... be it snake be it tiger be it anything that is a predator...three words sigfried and Roy. As cruel as it sounds they were handling large animals that on the outside world were top of the food chain, even though they were captive bred it didnt make them any less threatening and I think people forget that they are handling a GROWN beastie that can eat them... the big debate on F/T lies with the snake community, snakes like to hunt but Many snakes will sustain injuries from the rats their handlers throw in, so you feed them f/t to prevent them from getting hurt, I also tend to feed mine in a different tank so that they dont associate their tank as feeding grounds... aaaaaaaaaaanywho.... I dont think f/t makes a difference with pandora and prometheus I alternated between fresh venison and tossing lil bunny foo foo in with them and with Bubba he would get a goat...they never changed behavior on me I never had issues with any of them being ’abnormally aggressive’ they took from the tongs, and Bub’s would open his mouth and wait to have his meal tossed, they never lunged at me and to this day have not lunged at my brother....crocs however tend to have a natural phermone and chemical balance in their brain that makes them ’not quite right’ they tend to have higher aggression and where as an alligator can ’calm’ and ’tolerate’ their biped handlers crocs never fully fall into that role and seem to be a little more unstable and unpredictable...I dont fear my guys I simply hold a healthy respect for them, though my brother has to keep the three because we are military, I cant haul them with me, they have gotten to big, but we set up a nice enclosure for them down in Fl, and they are doing well, I kept them up until Pandi reached 5 feet and prom reached 5 1/2
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05/27/08 11:36am
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#1748027
Simbaah
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Message To: CelticTigeress In reference to Message Id: 1747963
Feeding gators turns them into man eaters, fact or misconception?
That is so true, It is messed up that they kill the gators for being on thier own property or in thier own habitat that people moved into.
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05/27/08 01:47pm
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#1748829
Aquasquid69
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Message To: CelticTigeress In reference to Message Id: 1747963
Feeding gators turns them into man eaters, fact or misconception?
yea i deff agree that man is moving in on the gators territroy and that it is very messed up that the gator has to suffer or be killed... so just wondering how long did it take your gators to get to 5ft because when i got mine a few months ago he was around 13 in and now just a few months later he is almost 2ft i had read that they only grow a foot a year just curious how much longer i have before i am going to have to make a big perminent enclosure LOL i mean right now i have the pond but that wont be enough for a 5 ft gator.... one more queistion how tame are yours i mean can you go in with them or are they more something cool to have and look at like a venomous snakeLOL
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05/28/08 01:48am
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#1748982
CelticTigeress
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Message To: Aquasquid69 In reference to Message Id: 1748829
Feeding gators turns them into man eaters, fact or misconception?
When I got Pandora she was a malnourished rescue it took her a good bit id say 7 years to hit that 5 foot mark, Prometheus hit his 5 foot Mark within 4 years, and then as soon as they hit it the growth seemed to slow, Prom is 8 right now Pan is only around 6 and Bubba is 9....Bubba isnt ’tame’ in what you’d think Bubba was a wildlife rescue that my Da’ nabbed for me pulling a few strings so he wouldnt be put down...Im actually REALLY REALLY careful with him as is my brother... we plan to move my guys up here as soon as we get settled since OK may be our permanant home....but pan and prom Ive had since I was 17 so roughly 10 years I noticed after the initial 2 year growth the growth slowed to about 6 inches maybe less a year.. it depends on how well you feed your guy mine have a constant supply of food heh...
Pandora was always nippy even now if not careful she gets excited during feeding time, My Brother updates me on her progress. Prometheus was a hatchling I did purchase and care for and he is fairly docile with feeding, he comes out of the water opens his mouth and waits, as soon as the food touches his tongue he slams his jaw shut and backs into the water.. Im actually a very organized feeder when I feed I have a routine with everyone dogs horses snakes iguanas turtles and bird... when I moved my guys down from IL they were only about 2- 21/2 feet My dad and I built an enclosure a large pond for them then went around fencing...fencing was laid beneath the ground around the Pond and secured with cement the enclosure fencing was dug down 3 feet and secured with cement, we have a dyke that is uplifted for feeding on the edge...this also prevents cattle from trying to drink and bloxks these guys access out.. we also have a warning sign so that idiots dont try and feed them...the S.O knows we have them...the pond is a freshwater spring so it has enough clarity you can see down but still with the plantlife tends with rain to cloud over, Dad and I pay to have it stocked once a year with various fish blue gill and bass though apparantly there are catfish now... more then likely a water treading bird deposited eggs and voila....I miss my guys but my life at the time doesnt permit them, my husband when he retires is building another enclosure for me near the House so that I can keep them, he wants to move to Fl I want to stay in Ok....ill be 35 when he retires from the USAF (Yay me) so just a few years to go and Im set...when that happens I plan to do more like Bam and tony and keep more around 10 or so yanno?? Bam has a SWEET setup for his camains I wish I could mimic and Tony had a great basement setup before all heck broke loose...just dont push her feed her but dont over feed her
as far as going in with them...uh... no.. I will swim with wild gators before I will with my guys, my guys know people bring food it isnt that they are aggressive but seeing ME associates dinner much less any other person, though I do occasionally go in to check them for booboos or treat them if they are sick, I always go in with someone else typically my brother....if it gets that bad I have to haul butt down and go take care of them but thats it...granted I have fished around them... they I like to think tolerate me more then are tame... vits a healthy respect I respect they can eat me and they respect that I feed them eat the biped lose the meal...
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05/28/08 09:34am
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