Never Saw a Gator in the Wild
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (61936)
United States
February 5, 2023 8:58pm CST
…Until today.
While we were out on the glass bottom boat tour our eagle-eyed captain spotted an alligator on the bank of the river. He pulled up close to the bank so we could see it.
After the ride I walked around the park and ended up on the “back side”, where he hadn’t moved and a park employee was there to make sure there were no “Florida man dies wrestling gator” headlines.
The park ranger said the gator was about two to three years old and about nine feet long. I asked if he was really sleeping or just “playing possum,” and he assured me the gator was really resting.
He gave me a long list of reasons: the gator could be enjoying the warmth of the sun (it was 75F at the park), he could have eaten and taking an after-meal nap, or he could just be sleeping.
I didn’t get too close (the zoom feature in the phone camera makes the couple in the top photo look much closer than they were), and I was happy to let others venture closer (because I only have to outrun one person should the gator get mad! 
).
That was an unexpected treat.
).
That was an unexpected treat.28 people like this
26 responses
@LadyDuck (457356)
• Switzerland
6 Feb 23
I saw gators in the wild a few times in Florida and 2 times TOO close.
The first time while I was playing golf, I wanted to pick up my ball that (as usual) fall in the pond and there was one inside.
The ball is surely still there.
The second time it was the Disney Town of "Celebration". I was walking along a pedestrian trail, I saw a small gator (about 4 feet long) and I thought how great that "fake" gator was, I went close to take a photo and he jumped up and run away... I run to the opposite direction.
The ball is surely still there.
The second time it was the Disney Town of "Celebration". I was walking along a pedestrian trail, I saw a small gator (about 4 feet long) and I thought how great that "fake" gator was, I went close to take a photo and he jumped up and run away... I run to the opposite direction.3 people like this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
6 Feb 23
I wonder how many golf balls an alligator eats in a lifetime.
The park ranger said that, when they’re resting, they do look like statues. That’s why he was on duty…to make sure everyone knew it was real.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (457356)
• Switzerland
6 Feb 23
@FourWalls - There was a special net to take out the ball from the water, but I thought it was better to let the beast sleep. They really look statues when they rest.
1 person likes this
@xander6464 (40825)
• Wapello, Iowa
7 Feb 23
That is really cool. I'm still waiting to see a gator in the wild. Or any other dangerous animal. With one sort of exception. I do remember throwing cookies at bears through the car windows in Yellowstone. That was in 1967. They won't let you do it now.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
7 Feb 23
@xander6464 — just remember, I am gruntled, not disgruntled!
2 people like this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
7 Feb 23
Disgruntled ex postal employees don’t count as “dangerous animals in the wild”?
2 people like this
@xander6464 (40825)
• Wapello, Iowa
7 Feb 23
@FourWalls I hadn't thought of them. They might just count.
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (94744)
• Marion, Ohio
6 Feb 23
I wouldn't want to get to close either
2 people like this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
6 Feb 23
I put my foot in the mouth of an alligator statue at the hotel in Gainesville. That’s enough adventure for one lifetime.
2 people like this
@1creekgirl (40396)
• United States
6 Feb 23
There are gators in small ponds in our daughter's subdivision in Mt Pleasant, SC. We took a video of one jumping up from the water thinking a stick someone threw was a snack.
One time I was babysitting Landon and had to walk him to the bus stop which meant walking by a pond in the early morning dark. Needless to say, we walked on the other side of the street. Glad you didn't have any closer encounters with that gator you saw.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
6 Feb 23
I was more afraid of the manatees ramming the boat. But they pretty much ignored the boat…just like the gator did.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
6 Feb 23
@1creekgirl — I hadn’t, either, so that was a major highlight!
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (40396)
• United States
6 Feb 23
@FourWalls That's good. I've never seen a manatee.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
7 Feb 23
That’s one reason I only play Putt Putt. We have an extremely low chance of encountering a real alligator. 
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
6 Feb 23
I’ve seen lots of them in gator zoos but this is the first time I’ve seen one outside of a confined or “mandated zone” space.
2 people like this
@RubyHawk (99425)
• Atlanta, Georgia
6 Feb 23
@FourWalls I have seen them in zoos, but this was the only time seeing one loose and free to wander.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
6 Feb 23
@RubyHawk — and once is enough, right?
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (169582)
• United States
7 Feb 23
That is cool. In all the times I have been to Florida, I always wanted to see gators in the wild, but never did. They do have them or did at Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland. They come out and sun themselves on a big fountain in the middle of the lake, but they might be fed. The park authority would not want them picking off visitors.
.
.1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
7 Feb 23
Yeah, that could cause a big blow to tourism in the state.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
6 Feb 23
Wow, how cool to (safely) see one out in the wild!
What else did you see in the glass bottomed boat tour?
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
6 Feb 23
Wait, I just found your previous post!
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (34300)
•
16 Feb 23
Them gators do enjoy basking in the sun. When I was playing golf with my dad in Florida there was one along the bank of one of the holes we were playing 
I believe my next golf shot was not a good one, lol.
I believe my next golf shot was not a good one, lol.1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
16 Feb 23
I’ll also bet you just bought a new sleeve of golf balls and took the penalty. (I probably would have had to buy a new pair of underwear, too. )
)1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (34300)
•
17 Feb 23
@FourWalls Ha, ha, good one! Thank goodness for electric riding carts. 
1 person likes this
@arunima25 (85265)
• Bangalore, India
6 Feb 23
I would never go close to them. You never know what will upset them and turn them mad. A safe distance is the wise thing.
I have only seen them in Zoo in a confined area
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
6 Feb 23
The zoom feature on the iPhone make it look like I was much closer than I actually was. And there was a park ranger managing a safe perimeter.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
6 Feb 23
@arunima25 — and in a case like this, a literal life-saver!
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
6 Feb 23
Absolutely! What do they have, a mouse and a duck!
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
6 Feb 23
@CarolDM — I promise you, they were nowhere near as close to the gator as the picture would let you think. From that angle they probably couldn’t even see it.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203454)
• Nashville, Tennessee
6 Feb 23
@FourWalls Well they do have Eeyore. Just sayin'. I would not be this couple walking, I would be in the boat.
1 person likes this
@Virtually2021 (827)
• Southend-On-Sea, England
6 Feb 23
Scary alligator. Which country is this in?
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
7 Feb 23
The United States. Our lovely, gator-filled state of Florida.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
7 Feb 23
VERY dangerous, but they aren’t as aggressive as the crocodiles are.
1 person likes this
@thebos (5779)
• Kisumu, Kenya
7 Feb 23
@FourWalls I have never seen one in my real life where are they mostly found
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (36391)
• Toccoa, Georgia
6 Feb 23
I have just seen alligator's at the zoo.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
7 Feb 23
I’ve had that luck, too. It’s better that way, lots of concrete and steel between you and them, so they can’t get to you if they get mad over you singing “Crocodile Rock” to them.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (73199)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Feb 23
They are scary but super you got to see one, Well. wouldn't you get real angry if you were sleeping peacefully in the sunshine and suddenly someone rudely woke you up? I agree with the gator just too bad he cannot put up a Do Not Disturb sign,
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
7 Feb 23
That’s the park ranger’s job: “don’t disturb the sleeping monster.”
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
6 Feb 23
There were plenty in the Everglades, but I suppose that was different because I expected to see them, and they were very accustomed to those loud airboats.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (57717)
• Centralia, Washington
6 Feb 23
@FourWalls I liked the touristy flatboat that we were on. It went slow and let us get a feel for the environment.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29233)
• Eugene, Oregon
7 Feb 23
Very cool sighting! Gators are spooky.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
7 Feb 23
I’m very glad it was in a park where someone official was there to guard the gator from idiot behavior.
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
6 Feb 23
The park ranger said that crocodiles tend to be more aggressive than alligators. But I wouldn’t want to stumble upon either. I saw people hiking in the Ocala National Forest yesterday and I thought, “Not on your life would I hike in this state!”
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325345)
• Rockingham, Australia
7 Feb 23
@FourWalls It must be wetter/marshier there. Ours don't get too far away from the water points, not from all I've heard anyway.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (15719)
• Raurkela, India
6 Feb 23
I have seen alligators in the Nandan Kanan zoo, Bhubaneswar, India.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61936)
• United States
6 Feb 23
There are alligator zoos in Florida, that’s how prevalent they are!
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (15719)
• Raurkela, India
7 Feb 23
@FourWalls I see. We have lot of aligators in India too.
1 person likes this
