Free Advice
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (124329)
Gainesville, Florida
April 25, 2025 6:19pm CST
I had to laugh when I came across this meme about Florida, because this is exactly what happened to me onetime when my son and I were camping. And the scary thing is, our campsite along the river looked almost exactly like the scenario in the picture, but luckily in our case only one alligator took up presence in our campsite.
As a native Floridian, I should have known better. Known what? That there'd be alligators of course.
Reminds me of a TV commercial that aired recently from Florida State Parks. In the commercial, a park ranger is standing by a body of water, and poses the question: "How do you tell if there are alligators in the water in Florida?" She then bends down, sticks her arm in the water, wiggles it around real good, and then pulls it out of the water and stands up. She then looks at the camera and says, "If your arm is wet, then there are alligators." Quite funny, but also true as can be. In Florida, you have to assume every single body of water has an alligator in it.
So here's my free advice to anyone visiting the great state of Florida: if you go camping, don't set your tent up too close to the water. Instead, set it up closer to the woods, because the bears are much friendlier than the alligators.
18 people like this
15 responses
@Juliaacv (53352)
• Canada
26 Apr
The alligators, and the size of their population, just totally freaks me out.
That and the snakes in Florida.
We have snakes here, but nothing poisonous.
When my cousin moved to Florida she told me that a snake got into their house when they were walking inside, like it was just hanging around on the step waiting for someone to open the door.
Someone should do a meme of that. 
4 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Apr
I wrote a discussion here on myLot a few years ago about a snake that was hanging on my doorknob when I came home. It freaked me out, but then I realized it was a harmless ribbon snake (a type of rat snake). It was very friendly and docile and I ended up picking it up with my hands and putting it in the shrubs in my front yard. It was just weird that it climbed up my front door and kind of coiled itself around the doorknob. I guess that's Florida for you.
I grew up here knowing full well that every body of water potentially has an alligator in it. But I still swam (and still do swim) in those bodies of water. For the most part, alligators will leave people alone (it's your little pet dog they want).
But them snakes? That's an entirely different story, especially when you start talking about the giant pythons in south Florida.
3 people like this
@Juliaacv (53352)
• Canada
26 Apr
@moffittjc Here the 'worst' snakes that I have ever seen are rat snakes and pine snakes. Pine snakes are terribly long. I remember we were on a ride one afternoon just after an summer thunderstorm, and there was a line all of the way across a 2-lane road, and we drove over it. I asked my husband what it was and he was quiet before telling me it was a snake. I could barely get out of the door of the car when we pulled into the garage at home, I was afraid that I would see or come into contact with something the snake left behind. Of course he made contact with the tires not the actual car.
That same cousin of mine was bike riding with her husband and another couple and the girls were ahead of the guys, so they stopped and waited, but as my cousin was about to put her foot down, her husband could see a rattle snake right there and called to her to keep going and go fast.
Us Canucks are afraid of alligators and big ole snakes like that.
3 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Apr
@Juliaacv I know what you mean about them pine snakes, they are super long. That would probably startle me for sure. And trust me, I don't play around when it comes to rattle snakes. They are all over the place here in Florida, and there is like 3 or 4 different species of them.
3 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Apr
Keep that advice in mind for when you visit Florida soon!
Do not pet the alligators! They may look cute, but their teeth are sharp.
3 people like this
@snowy22315 (189656)
• United States
26 Apr
Yikes, We camped in the Everglades once, in the Everglades National Park. Glad we weren't gator food. It was so humid though!
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (189656)
• United States
27 Apr
@moffittjc Learn something new everyday I guess!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Apr
I've lived in Florida all my life, and never knew they allowed camping in the Everglades National Park! I'd be afraid of all them alligators there!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Apr
@snowy22315 I believe you about the camping, it was just weird that in my whole life living here I never knew one could camp there! And I've been in Everglades National Park dozens of times!
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (148472)
• United States
26 Apr
We have to warn tourists about camping in the woods because the bears aren't friendly and sh*tting isn't the only thing they do in the woods!
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (148472)
• United States
26 Apr
@moffittjc When I see a bear in the woods, I start backing away from it slowly until it can't see me anymore and then I go as quickly as I can out of the woods! (I can still jog but running is out. I'd fall down if I tried to run.)
2 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Apr
@DaddyEvil I do the same thing. Don't startle the bear in any way, if you can avoid it.
The key to successfully outrunning a bear is to always go into the woods with a companion who is slower than you. Maybe you can't run fast, but you only need to run slightly faster than your companion! LOL
2 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Apr
Have you ever seen a bear sh*t in the woods? Surprisingly, I have! lol. I walked up on one doing his business in a clearing just off a trail I was hiking.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Apr
Our alligators could be considered pets compared to your crocodiles!
Interestingly, Florida does have crocodiles as well, but they are concentrated to a very small area at the southern tip of Florida, and they are not the monstrous size that you find in places like Australia or along the Nile River. Florida is also one of the few places in the world that have alligators, crocodiles and caymans living in the same place (a cayman, or caiman, is a type of alligator native to the tropical Americas and is different from alligators in that they have armored bellies)
2 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Apr
@JudyEv They have crocodiles in Nepal? That’s crazy!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (353594)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 Apr
@moffittjc That's interesting about the cayman. The gharial crocodile is found in Nepal and has a snout almost like a swordfish. Very strange.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (46317)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Apr
Good advice. I wouldn’t wanna come close to a bear either though. Unless maybe it was at the zoo behind a fence.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Apr
What's the fun of seeing a bear from the behind the safety of a fence? I like to live life on the edge.
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Apr
@lovebuglena What about a plush one that is still alive and growls? Haha
@lovebuglena (46317)
• Staten Island, New York
27 Apr
@moffittjc I don’t like to live on the edge. The only bear I want next to me is a plush one. 
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Apr
Thankfully, most gators are scared of humans. When I unzipped my tent and popped my head out, the gator was probably more startled than me, and it high-tailed it back into the water as fast as it could.
1 person likes this
@kareng (74214)
• United States
26 Apr
@moffittjc As long as their are no babies around. I remember when the twins were young (7-8) and we were fishing. There was a gator that had a couple of babies in the water close to her. One of them decided to try and catch a gator. Mama gator didn't think that was cool and swam over to the babies and that scared my daughter and made her quit her teasing. She got picked on for a long time after that.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Apr
@kareng Once, when I was in high school, a buddy of mine who had an assignment for a photography class asked me to tag along with him out into the Everglades to try and photograph some swamp scenes. During the course of us sloshing around in the swampy waters, we came upon a gator nest with a bunch of baby gators in it. Momma gator was nowhere to be found, and so my friend decided he was going to get up close and personal with the babies and photograph them. Well, he got a little too close, and momma made a sudden appearance out of nowhere. My friend stumbled backward and fell, and I thought for sure he was a goner. But I guess momma decided he wasn't a threat anymore once he fell down in the water, because she backed off.
1 person likes this
@ARIES1973 (11825)
• Legaspi, Philippines
26 Apr
Though my chance of getting near that part is 1 out of 100, I would still remember this advice.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Apr
So you're saying there's a chance!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Apr
My heart definitely skipped a beat when I popped my head out of the tent and saw a gator laying there. But it was just as scared as I was, for as soon as it saw me stick my head out, it high-tailed it back into the water as quickly as it could.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (74754)
• United States
26 Apr
I’ve done all my camping in Florida at the Hampton Inn or the Holiday Inn or the Courtyard Inn. Reduces the risk of alligators and bears, not to mention those 737-sized mosquitoes.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Apr
You picked some great camping spots, although I have seen gators lounging around hotel pools before. And those 737-sized mosquitoes? Well, I hope none of them ever followed you into your hotel room! lol
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (116208)
• Marion, Ohio
26 Apr
@moffittjc But I love being smart enough to be safe too. That means keeping my arms and legs 
2 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Apr
@wolfgirl569 Smart and safe are two words that never seem to be a part of my vocabulary! lol. But so far, I still have all my arms and legs!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Apr
But I thought you loved the outdoors! lol
2 people like this
@RasmaSandra (85096)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
26 Apr
Yup, I sure can imagine that, You made me laugh about the bears being friendlier than the alligators, I have no worries never gone camping and never will,
You made me laugh about the bears being friendlier than the alligators, I have no worries never gone camping and never will,1 person likes this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Apr
Did you read about that bear they found roaming the streets of Daytona? Neither did I.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (85096)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
27 Apr
@moffittjc at this point being alone and without pets if there had been a bear I might have brought him home
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Apr
@RasmaSandra As long as you feed him, he will be cute and cuddly, like a teddy bear!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Apr
My first thought when I saw the photo was, “Who’s taking the picture?” Either they have a zoom lens, or they are standing way too close.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 May
@porwest Oh yeah. Maybe like the Blair Witch Project. Someone found the camera at a later time and examined the photos and found this one. No sign of the campers anywhere to be found other than this clue. We have a mystery on our hands!
1 person likes this
@porwest (99865)
• United States
29 Apr
@moffittjc All good questions. OR this was one of those "Pictures taken just before disaster happened." lol
1 person likes this
@Ineeddentures (1269)
•
26 Apr
I've seen alligators on your golf courses.
And I can't run no more so I won't be teeing my balls up in Florida.
You get Bears there too?
2 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Apr
Bears, pythons, panthers. You name it, we've got them. Florida is no place to mess around in!
Alligators on golf courses is just part of life. I don't think there's ever been a time I've been golfing that I didn't come across an alligator on the course. Unless your ball is lying on or near them, you just ignore them and play through.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Apr
@Ineeddentures "Nice kitty, please give me back my ball."
2 people like this
@Ineeddentures (1269)
•
26 Apr
@moffittjc
I've ignored the group in front a good few times and played through them.
I am trying to imagine reasoning with a panther playing with my ball in the rough
2 people like this
@moffittjc (124329)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 May
I don't think you would be LOL-ing if you were in that tent!
1 person likes this
