Gator in the drinking water.

A friend sent me an email about this.

"This was taken by a KTBS helicopter flying over Cross Lake! (For those of you who are not local, Cross Lake is in Shreveport, La.) That has to be a HUGE gator to have a whole deer in its mouth! Are you ready to go skiing on Cross Lake?! If you ski at the west end of the lake -- try not to fall."





I write her back,

"Wow!

I grew up there...fished that laked hundreds of times. I lived 50' from the western shore one year.

I've seen some little ones were around 3 and 4 footers. Every once in a while you would hear about a citing but nothing like this.

Cross Lake is a city water supply. A beast like this is unexpected. It would be much like spotting one in Lake Maumelle. (city water supply to Little Rock, AR)

- Jeff"

So, Here is evidence to what I've suspected. I've been deep into the bayous on the southern side of that lake. Strangly beautiful. Let's go show the flashlight guys.

Hold on there, Tiger. Before you do, you might want to validate your information.

Alas, KTBS says not our chopper, not our picture.

I think they got me because it is very possible.

Oh well, thought you guys would enjoy the photos.

Then they got you again, 'cause its real.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

i wonder if we have gators here in ga im in lagrange ga . one time i was swiming in west point lake and all a sudden something huge ran it to me i mean HUGE scared me bad.i saw em all the time in fla. they realy never bothered me

That picture was taken in Georgia, Raggie.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife news release

That is a pretty awesome sight. Wasnt there a 18' alligator killed in Florida several years ago? I remember seeing its picture in USA Today. They said it had been hanging around a marina and would not leave and they killed it because of the danger it posed.

About a week before Hurricane Charley hit, a woman trimming her bushes on ritzy Sanabel Island was attacked, killed and partially eaten by an alligator. Sanabel was the island outside of Port Charlotte Bay where Charley first hit Florida.

MichiganMan -

Fooled them too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

raggie33 -

Empath is correct. That was a Georgia Alligator.

Swimming in West Point Lake in Ga. and something huge ran into to you? Was that near Alligator Creek Park, #7 as seen on this map of West Point Lake? I wonder why they call it Alligator Creek?

I was going to say muhahahaha but upon further reflection, I'm wondering if that might have been an amphibious ostrich.

i always forget the name of it but it is right under damn well above damn deep soide of damn it isnt a swining area there to crowded it is for fishing

Icebreak, there may well be gators in Lake Maumelle. I was talking with a guy that had a marina just north of the dam in Morrilton and he had about thrity pictures of different gators killed in the area, some at the mouth of the Petit Jean river. I have seen gators at Cook's Ferry (dam by I-430) and at Cadron Settlement Park just north of the golf course I live in Conway. I have heard, no proof, from rangers that there are gators in both the Little and Big Maumelle rivers. Since so many were introduced to help the beaver problem, they are pretty much everywhere.

Quick story: My ex grew in Austalia, and her dad once told me they killed a croc that had been killing dogs and cattle in the area. It was so big, that the truck trying to pull it out of the water got stuck. They had to cut it in pieces to get it out.

Jeeez, bigcozy. You just gave me about a three minute chill.

One afternoon brightboy here thought he would try his luck on The Big Maumelle where it splits to head to the dam and to the lake just off hwy. 300. Right there it isn't much more than a very slow stream. I threw a white spinner and began reeling. Something very large was disturbed and jetted toward the lake. I mean this thing (what ever it was) made a wake like a small submarine. I wrote it off to being a monster gar or a monster buffalo. All this time I knew 14 lb. test would not have handled it.

Now I'm thinking it could have been a submerged gator lying in wait.

Cook's landing! Dang! I guess they could be downtown. That could certainly add some excitment to an outdoor concert.

BTW, My ex and I used to live next to the Country Club in Conway.

Next, you're going to tell me they are at Toad Suck. I guess Mr. "fishes amongst water moccasins" better be more careful. I have no desire to compete with alligators for dinner. I have even less desire to be anywhere near an Australian Croc that can't fit in my living room.

For those interested, here is a pic of Lake Maumelle.



I think little Zoe (We don't know her, just wanted to give credit) has the right idea.

"Ahhh, Ma'am...I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we found what was contaminating your water supply, the bad news...Do you have a .30-06?"

man when ilived in fla they always kinda left me alone when i fished sometimes they went after my catch.maybe there geting more bold now.

Two questions from a North Eastern Flashaholic:

1 What's the difference btween a crocodile and an alligator?
2 Do gators/crocs attack on land?

Very scary creatures.

Brightnorm

crocs are genraly more agresive salt wateer crocs are mean as hect

Gives "gatorade" a whole new meaning!(rim shot)I know,I know... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif

This is from http://www.gatorland.com/fun/gatorcroc.html


[ QUOTE ]
Many people want to know what the difference is between alligators and crocodiles. There are many differences, most of which are not easy to see. One of the differences that you can see is the shape of the head. Alligators have a broader, more rounded snout while crocodiles have a narrower, more pointed snout. If you look at the side of a crocodile's mouth, you'll notice the fourth tooth on the bottom jaw sticks outside of the top jaw and into a groove. The upper and lower teeth of a crocodile stick outside the jaws while the bottom teeth of the alligator fit into sockets in the upper jaw.

Alligators outnumber crocodiles 1,000 to 1 in the wild in North America. The American crocodile is considered endangered, with a wild population of less than 500. The American alligator population is estimated at about 1.5 million.


[/ QUOTE ]

Icebreak, you bet there are gators at Toad Suck. Circa 1996 there was a 8 footer that hung out for about a month down there on the lock side. My ex would go down and take pictures all the time of it. No doubt in my mind that there are some that hang around downtown.

Now to a different subject, last fall a black bear wandered downtown following the river. Right behind the old State House. Game and Fish said it was just following the river and that low amounts of food do to (bear) overpopulation lead to it wandering around.

I am not even going to go into the four African Lions that the Game and Fish Comission had to kill last year running wild in rural Arkansas.