You know what I love about the low country? It’s not just the smell of the tide going out and beautiful sunsets over the marshland. It’s not only the bike rental office convincing young women that helmets aren’t cool. (No helmet laws. NONE.) It isn’t even the welcoming bumper sticker, ‘Close The Whitehouse Not Gitmo,’ greeting my ‘Obama 08′ & ‘Denounce Torture‘ stickers.
I love that this guy has been chilling in the fountain near our vacation condo. For the past three days.
And he may not be as cute as the PunditMom’s panda, but I am VERY pleased he is not sitting in my lap. I named him Joe.
Some cool alligator facts. Because I roll like a nerd, nerdy-style holla!
- The largest recorded American alligator was 19 feet in length.
- Alligators and their relatives are the last of the living reptiles that were closely related to dinosaurs.
- Alligators and crocodiles are related. But alligators have rounded snouts; most crocodile species have longer, pointed snouts. Also, crocodiles occur only in tropical and subtropical areas (only south Florida in the United States). Alligators, on the other hand, live in somewhat colder climates.
- Alligators have a strong homing instinct and sometimes will protect their “territory” from other alligators.
This guy has the best territory in the area. I’d be protective, too. So I was NOT the parent inching my children down the embankment to take a picture with Joe. My kids might look like humans to me, but they both have fairly impressive dinosaur impressions (a T-Rex and a Pterodactyl to be exact), which may bring back some sad and angry memories for Joe. So we stayed on the concrete side of Joe’s home. And took safe pictures. And lived.
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Ah,we nerds are Klassy like that :D but,FB prefers to call us Intellectual Badasses,not half bad, is it ?:D Awesome post,cool pictures :)!
Ooh. I like it. Maybe IBs for short?
I'm sure this goes without saying, but DO NOT SWIM IN THE WATER.
I'm glad you took safe pics of Joe. Seems like the smart move. I can't imagine being that close to a creature like that and not be at the zoo (trust me, I would be behind you if I was there…I don't do well with animals bigger and meaner than a dog)!!
I was secretly terrified that my kids would fall in..
I was a bit weird-ed out but I figured that alligator attacks must be pretty rare since no one who LIVE there seemed concerned… but it was hard not to take pictures of the parents inching their closer. geez!
Ok….that's scary. I wouldn't want to meet that on a dark night.
I'm with you…no where near that water…safe on the shore.
Glad you spotted him BEFORE you went for a swim!! :D Not sure I'd be too happy to meet him actually ~ but maybe from a very safe distance I'd get my camera out too! ;)
I was reading about parks near us – you know, places to camp – and one description said that there were alligators in the waters and under no circumstances to let your pets off the leash and to keep your small children near you. Yikes.
Me, too! Luckily they hang out in mucky water (although I did see a guy fishing near a spot where another one hangs out. not worth the fish!)
It doesn't seem like a fun place to camp if you have to keep everyone on a leash!
Luckily he picked a fountain so I think that he was the only one allowed in there ;)
No worries — we are asleep by 8pm (at least the kids are)
CRAZY! Robby would often see them while golfing…crossing the cart paths! The dog park we'd take Sampson to had a pond all the dogs would swim in. Right in the middle of the pond was a sing that said, “No swimming. Alligators often spotted”. And I wonder why my dog is afraid of the water. CLEARLY he can read. And I dig your facts! I always get the snouts confused. Good to know! Rounded = alligator, Pointy = crocodile.
P.S. There was an alligator picked up from an apartment complex on 61 about four years ago. It was under a tenants car.
Very cool pics. I'd be the safe mom too. Not worth the risk. :)
Close the Whitehouse huh? Witty. Not. You'd think people could just get over it already…they lost.
Oooh, I love learning. And gigantic reptiles. Holla!
Around here, we just have alligator gar – big carnivorous, toothy fish. I think the biggest one on record was something like 8 ft long?
Happy vacation!
There was a gator behind my grandmother's condo that she named and talked about regularly. She got some very good pictures of it and I was always afraid to ask how she got them…
Great shots of Joe…and a great dose of knowledge! Happy Friday!
funny! glad you lived to tell about it. Alligators freak me out. Thanks for dropping by :)
Thank you for stopping by. Your vacation condo location looks amazing.
LOL ;)
Sampson IS a genius. Or thinks that you'll are trying to off him…
PS. Maybe the alligator just needed a ride somewhere? Joe needs a vacation too.
I know! I managed to survive eight years of George Bush. This is how a democracy works! If you don't like it, vote. Or move. (I considered Canada myself)
Ooh, I just looked up that fish. http://www.coastalthings.com/ALLIGATOR%20GAR.jpg
Holy cow that thing is SCARY.
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