Posted on 05/11/2023 9:30:05 PM PDT by Morgana
Shocking photos and videos show an alligator chilling on an Alabama beach in the Gulf of Mexico just feet away from beachgoers.
In a post on Facebook, one man shared the grabs of the reptile in the large body of water, along with a short clip of the animal wading by the shore.
'The things you never think you'll see,' wrote Matt Harvill on Facebook. 'First time seeing a gator on Dauphin Island. Heading towards the west end be careful y'all.'
Harvill said the alligator seemed curious more than anything but the video has some beachgoers spooked. Others, however, say it won't affect their beach trips.
'I'd probably still get in the water,' said beachgoer Noah Knight. 'Not anywhere in the area where the alligator is at but still probably.'
The alligator hit the beach over the weekend, according to Harvill's post.
'It was just a very beautiful day - my girlfriend and I were just spending some time on the beach when someone mentioned it,' Harvill said.
'So, we walked down to get a better look and snap some pictures. It's not everyday something like that happens,' he continued.
'We see them in Dog River and the Bird sanctuary. Almost never in the Gulf like that. I knew if I didn't get pictures no one would ever believe it,' Harvill said.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Yeah - after I posted I read the article.
I thought the first photo showed a 5’5” reptile - but it was of Senator Feinstien in another news story.
Them’d be some ugly shoes and handbags.
First thing I wondered reading the excerpt, didn’t even click through to the article/pic.
My understanding is that he will only last about a month in saltwater before going blind due to effects of the saltwater on his eyes.
Not in that area. There are nearby freshwater and brackish lagoons at the Bon Secour refuge, full of gators. There was a big gator that would hang out by our beach house hoping partying tourists would throw scraps off the decks of nearby rental houses. Never saw it go over the dune to the sea while I was there, but it wouldn’t take much effort to go such a short distance for a gator, especially for that one which was well known.
No, that is an ordinary alligator.
Yep. Learned to waterski in central Florida lakes - you could see the 'gators sunning themselves on the banks as you went by. Did not want to take a spill in that area, fer sure.
Salt water? He’s going to have dry skin now.
Nope - it’s a gator - I see enough close up to recognize one being in coastal Mississippi.
Look at the snout. Flat and wide.
That’s an alligator per the pictures in the article.
It’s not unusual to see them in or near salt water.
I don’t remember seeing gators in the lake where I went waterskiing when I was a youth. I probably never would have done it if I’d have seen them back then.
What part of the Gulf, not that it matters?
LOL! Those silly British. It’s a pretty average sized mature gator and yes they do swim in salt water at times.
I used to camp on Horn Island, about 20 miles west of Dauphin Island. I stopped sleeping on the beach when I woke one morning to find gator tracks from the lagoon to the shore three feet from my tent.
😬
See my post #34. Close encounter, yikes!
We Americans will measure in anything but metric. Hold the line!
Next to the lighthouse in St Marks, Fl.
https://www.stmarksrefuge.org/st-marks-lighthouse
Better picture, this is where it happened, but the stairs were not there at the time in the late 1970s..
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/entertainment/2016/06/23/summers-time-right-racing-beach/86286302/
Wow, I guess no place is safe from gators, even back then.
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