Photos: Alligator encounters through South Florida

Big alligator in Big Cypress National Preserve.
The monster alligator - License our images here.

We've encountered many wild alligators hiking in Florida. The biggest one? Probably the animal of the previous photo. 

The meeting happened in the area of the Bear Island campground in Big Cypress National Preserve. The gator swan under a line of trees and came towards us. It showed not fear and got close to the shores. We experienced the uneasy feeling of a prey. 

A clap with the hands made it stop. The alligator sank a little and we walked away saying see you later, alligator.

Two photos of the big alligator of Big Cypress - Photos: Still Gravity.
Two more shots of the large beast of the Big Cypress National Preserve. 

A hike to the end of the Military Trail in the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve put us in touch with big gators everywhere. 

Alligators sun basking on the shores of the Kissimmee River - Photo: Still Gravity.
Alligators sun basking on the shores of the Kissimmee River. 

And what about this lazy fatty resting on the banks of a big pond in Dinner Island Ranch Wildlife Management Area?  

Big alligator in Dinner Island Ranch Wildlife Management Area - Photo: Still Gravity.
Another huge gator.         

Sometimes there are some in the canal that borders the scenic Loop Road.  

Alligator in Loop Road, Big Cypress National Preserve - Photo: Still Gravity.
It didn't move even if we crossed close by. 

But sometimes, we see the little ones with their cool yellow bands. Keep an eye on the nearby mom.   
Babies in the Corkscrew Swamp - Photos: Still Gravity.
Babies in the Corkscrew Swamp.

A group of baby gators is called a pod. The ambient temperature at birth defines their sex - warm times mean more boys. They are six to eight inches long at birth and later grow a foot per year. 

The yellow on their skin is for camouflage in the grass. Growing up, it becomes black. Biologists believe that 80% of newborns die attacked by predators. 

Little gator in Shark Valley - Photo: Still Gravity.
Little gator in Shark Valley. 

We have too many photos of alligators. Let's share three more.

Another big one of the Kissimmee Prairie - Photo: Still Gravity.
Another big one of the Kissimmee Prairie. 

Alligator at night in Shark Valley, Everglades National Park - Photo: Still Gravity.
Night in Shark Valley, Everglades National Park.         

Walking by a dead alligator - Photo: Still Gravity.
Walking by a dead alligator.         

In dealing with alligators, always remember the advice of Cordell Hull.

Never insult an alligator until after you have crossed the river.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chekika: Forgotten spot of Everglades National Park close to Miami

Image
During our last visit to Chekika ( map ), we found closed roads and dilapidated buildings. This was our fourth time here. Little by little, nature is coming back. Wilderness taking over what was always its property.            The closed entrance to the Grossman Hammock -  License our images here .   Everglades National Park closed indefinitely the Chekika Day Use Area in 2013. They claimed budget constraints. One year later, Chekika was on the news when a juvenile Nile crocodile was removed from the area - the animal was captured in a canal north from the Grossman Hammock. Two others were caught in 2009 and 2012 further to the east. You know the script with invasive species: they escaped, or someone released them.  The Everglades already have the mighty Pythons running wild. I don’t want to imagine the River of Grass ruled by “man-eaters” crocodiles that can reach up to 17 feet. That would be madness. 
More »

Google search and the little blog

Image
Many small websites are going dark like the sands of the desert at nightfall -  License our images here .   Little blogs are dying. They are jailed in a dark and remote dungeon of Google organic search, the non-index dungeon. The mighty gatekeeper, like Saturn , is devouring its children. Betrayed for money, the good old-fashioned blogs are the collateral damage of their "helpful" content update. Long gone is that 2004 when Loren Baker wrote: Google likes Blogs. Blogs do well in Search Results Listings on Google. This is because Blogs contain fresh content and are richly interlinked, despite their relatively small audiences. Some would go so far as to say that Google over-represents Blogs. (Source:  What if Google didn't like blogs? ") That's ancient history. A jump to 2022 shows a different picture. According to Sandy Maguire: The Internet is dominated by a few big websites. Out of social, the amateur opinion is vanished. (Source: " Why Is the Web So Monoto
More »

Ernest Hemingway's "Oklahoma": "All of the Indians are dead (a good Indian is a dead Indian)"

Image
Page of an edition of "Three Stories & Ten Poems" from Ernest Hemingway.  Here we go with Hemingway poetry. Harsh. But we know what to expect from his sharp journalistic prose and  iceberg theory .  "Oklahoma" was published in 1923 in Three Stories & Ten Poems   - affiliate link to Amazon . The name says it all: the "Oklahoma" of the Choctaw language - means "red people" -, and Oklahoma the state seen through its genesis, the Indian Territory .  American Indians or Native American - whatever suits you, but many of them prefer the first name - in their new way of life.   Now to the poem.  All of the Indians are dead (a good Indian is a dead Indian) Or riding in motor cars— (the oil lands, you know, they’re all rich) Smoke smarts my eyes, Cottonwood twigs and buffalo dung Smoke grey in the teepee— (or is it myopic trachoma) The prairies are long, The moon rises, Ponies Drag at their pickets. The grass has gone brown in the summer— (or is it
More »