Posted on 03/29/2006 8:22:16 AM PST by stainlessbanner
NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla -- An 82-year-old Lee County man said he tried to get an alligator out of his garage with a broom.
John Turney says he also used the blue straw broom to kept the 4-foot reptile from biting him.
The gator later went under Turney's car that was parked in the driveway and Turney sprayed it with a garden hose.
The alligator finally didn't leave until three other people prodded it, forcing the reptile to go back to a lake.
It had apparently spent the night in Turney's garage in North Fort Myers.
Just a few days ago, another alligator was found at the front door of a Bonita Springs home. Trappers eventually captured it from a nearby lake. No one was injured.
Wildlife officials said warm weather makes the reptiles more active, especially male alligators looking for new territories and potential mates.
Mating season begins in May.
When it went under the car, wouldn't it be easier just to drive over it?
Chuck Norris's dad live in FL?
Just a little guy since 4ft includes his tail. Growing up in FL, I've always used the rule of thumb, if you're bigger than the gator, it'll ignore, or more likely try to get away from you. The one's you need to worry about are the ones you don't see. The big guy's can sit practically unseen in really shallow water - that's how they hunt.
Gators in my garage would very quickly be known as dead gators.
Mating season comes earlier than May. I don't live near any water but it's not uncommon to see a big one, looking for love, come lumbering through the yard in April. We're always trying to teach the kids to stay away from them but they're drawn to them out of curiosity and don't realize the full danger. The dogs get the worst of it when they chase after them barking and, inevitably, getting too close - never realizing that the gator is much faster than they are. Between the fire ants, heat and the gators, Florida is a tough place to be a dog.
Good story. Got to tell them young'uns to stay away from rattlers. I often wonder what the Yankee tourists think about gators and snakes down south. I have seen many of them with a cavalier attitude towards these creatures - like they won't get hurt. I think the natives treat reptiles with respect out of the danger they can cause.
The speed thing is a myth. Gators are faster in water than on land. If a dog is dumb enough to get really close to a gator on land, it is the gators tail that will usually get it.
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