Alligators Moving North - Now Seen in Virginia

[ktmoomau]

Off topic, but did you hear about this:

"Woman Killed by 8-Foot Alligator while Walking Dog in South Carolina" by Kalhan Rosenblatt on nbcnews.com

I randomly came across it earlier, don't even remember how.

Yeah, it was on the news there- very sad, there was also a bull shark in Sea Pines last week, and they are doing a bunch of road construction down there- we stayed clear of that section of the island as it seemed to be a hotbed of not good things last week (of course last year when I was in HHI, there was a HUGE rattlesnake that rode the tide onto the beach at Port Royal, luckily we weren't at the beach that day). 

I am REALLY careful with my dog when I am in Hilton Head, this time I didn't let him go to the beach as often due to how hot it was and the shark sightings, I let him go a couple times, but he got to get his feet wet only and mainly ran around when it was low tide (we are in Port Royal and on our beach when the tide goes out there are lots of little water pools as the tide goes out really far and it is very shallow, but still I am careful).  It was so hot though, we mainly stayed in our pool, so he got to swim in the pool instead.  I also steer way clear of the ponds,  many of which have gators and really keep my eye on stuff.  I am to the point that I also try to be careful of bushes and pine straw for snakes, etc.  I try to be very, very aware when I am out with him.  I bring a VERY short leash for my dog when I am down there too.  I am amazed how many golfers go to retrieve golf balls down by or in the ponds, not smart.  I have never been a big ocean person- I will take Deep Creek Lake any day- and the amount of gators and sharks around and on the island this year, by the beaches seems to be higher due to warming temperatures.  Oh and jellyfish too, ugh.

[dracisk]

Yikes. I didn’t even know they had gators there. Maybe the golfers don’t, either.

I grew up on the ocean and love it, but I’m all set with sharks, of course. A tuna fisherman caught a great white shark about a mile off the coast of Rhode Island a couple of weeks ago. Shudder.

[ktmoomau]

2 hours ago, dracisk said:

Yikes. I didn’t even know they had gators there. Maybe the golfers don’t, either.

Gators are in Virginia now, even, due to rising temps- not a huge population mainly around the border still, and definitely in NC, SC, GA, FL and then west to TX.  They are pretty visible in HHI, you will see them laying on the banks of ponds.  I think a lot of places post signs.  Most people think if you are in salt water you are fine, as they typically live in fresh or brackish water, but they can come into full salt water for short periods and there have been some rolling in with the tide onto beaches the past couple years in HHI because the beaches are pretty close to brackish water, but it is rare and they generally want to avoid people, so nothing to really worry about.  They are more active April-June when they first wake up and mate.  This attack was pretty surprising, but it's been hot with not a lot of rain, so maybe they have had less to eat in their lagoons because the water levels did seem low.  Sea Pines also has a lot of renters so you might be right- the woman may not have known either.  I am very careful as my dog is a very appealing snack size, especially at night when they are more active and up on land more.

[Steve R.]

I'm pretty sure that there's a caravan of gators coming North & that they will try to sneak into all of our communities.  Some folks think that they're all killers, but others are saying that they're just fleeing the Florida Everglades' pythons, as its just too dangerous for a young gator to remain. 😇

[Ericandblueboy]

I guess we need to build a wall and make Virginia great again?