Posted on 04/08/2009 2:55:15 PM PDT by Chet 99
These are scary times in South Florida--if you're a small dog or a dog owner and live near the coast.
That's because American crocodiles, once near the brink of extinction because of hunting and habitat loss, now flourish so at the tip of the Sunshine State that they've been downgraded from endangered to threatened status by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
South Florida is the species' only U.S. habitat and it might be no coincidence that with crocodile numbers up to about 2,000, more dogs and other small pets are vanishing.
Chris Marin told the Associated Press that he's moving from a canal property south of of Miami after losing poodles named Spotty, Luna and Angel to an estimated 11-foot crocodile.
"When we first moved in, I even put a swing on a tree here for my kids to plunge into the canal," Marin said.
Florida has more than a million alligators, but crocodiles are establishing an increasingly ominous presence in brackish coastal areas, where habitat restoration and protection have allowed for a population boom.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
I do think I would be more concerned about crocs than gators. I believe they are more aggressive.
I can imagine a gator wandering around a boardwalk, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a gator ever going kayaking ;).
Ping!
LOL Actually, I’ve been told that a gator could (and might) attack us in a kayak. So far they haven’t...
I remember a story when an alligator rang someone’s front doorbell. They must have needed a bucket when they opened that door!
I would suggest one of the higher floors, for when another Hurricane Andrew comes ashore, or when that Volcano in the canary islands collapses, sending a one hundred foot Tsunami onto the entire east US coast.
Thanks ever so.
You can have them all; I won’t be jealous.
I looked at your home page—really good shots of the local fauna. I’m a huge fan of pelicans. Any in your ‘hood
Yeah yeah yeah, I’m gonna be swamped.
I was here for Hurricane Andrew, evacuated myself hours before the official order. And I lived in San Francisco for a decade, including the year of the World Series quake. The woman who shared a long wall in my building had so much damage she couldn’t get to the door of her place; on my side of that wall, only a vase fell off the coffeetable—and did not break.
I keep thinking of the gorgeous apartments and condos on Nob Hill looking out on the Bay where residents have enjoyed the view since 1907 while risk-averse souls head for the boring flatlands.
We are all going to get dead. Just enjoy life and don’t worry.
Wow! Hurricane Andrew AND the San Francisco quake!! How is it that you weren't vacationing in Phuket during Christmastime in 2004?!?
LOL.
“Not my kind of camera time,” she joked.
Beautiful. Thank you.
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