American Alligators

[mackguyver]

Work is pretty slow today, so I thought I'd start another thread - this time of some of my favorite neighbors here in Florida - American Alligators or gators as we call them around here.

An unhappy mother swimming towards me

The joys of an 800mm lens - this CPS loaner let me more safely photograph (them for a week)

This big guy is supposedly over 14 feet (4.25M) according to the refuge officials:

Florida beaches can't all be white sand and friendly locals

9 foot mother keeping a watchful eye on her young

A ten footer taking a swim in the Gulf of Mexico about 20-30 feet from an oblivious fisherman

My coolest encounter - he's roughly 11 feet long and paid me absolutely no attention

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Mackguyver.
You have some great shots there, that little guy in the Lilly pads is cute, at the moment! The oblivious fisherman is sitting pretty close to the water isn't he!

Cheers Graham.

 

[sedwards]

very first wild gator i ever saw last dec in john chestnut park just outside clearwater .just a little guy about a foot long
IMG_2129 by sedwards679, on Flickr

this was the biggest one i saw. probably 7 feet
IMG_2334 by sedwards679, on Flickr

 

[mackguyver]

Hi Mackguyver.
You have some great shots there, that little guy in the Lilly pads is cute, at the moment! The oblivious fisherman is sitting pretty close to the water isn't he!

Cheers Graham.

Thanks for the kind words, Graham, and yes, the fisherman had no idea how close the alligator was to his kayak. I used a 400mm to try to compress the perspective and make it seem closer to him, but in reality, it was closer than I'd like to be in a small boat!

very first wild gator i ever saw last dec in john chestnut park just outside clearwater .just a little guy about a foot long

Nice shots and it's quite a thrill to see these guys in the wild. I find it altogether fascinating and terrifying at the same time

Here are a few more shots:

This is a six-footer - by far the most dangerous because they are fast and big enough to maim

Here's one chomping on a fish - this was shot during a crazy morning when there were dozens of alligators feeding in a lake at the same time - I think it was a full moon or something!

I like this close up - though I was probably a little too close - this is uncropped. I have a 20x30 print of it and the detail in the eye reflection is amazing:

This one scared the crap out of me when he popped up from under the duckweed about 15 feet from me in a small pool (~30 feet in diameter) of stagnant water. I think he was at least 10 feet - the distance from their nose to eyes in inches is approximately their length in feet.

 

[Click]

Great shots guys. I love looking at your pictures. Keep posting.

 

[mackguyver]

Great shots guys. I love looking at your pictures. Keep posting.

Thanks, Click, and per your request, here are some of my most recent shots:

 

[lap.texas]

Here is a friendly fellow at a sewage treatment pond about 150 miles from my home. We have seen him eat a Blue-winged Teal in one big snap.

 

[CTJohn]

Various from the Everglades.

 

[mackguyver]

Here is a friendly fellow at a sewage treatment pond about 150 miles from my home. We have seen him eat a Blue-winged Teal in one big snap.

He doesn't look like an alligator I would mess with! Cool shot.

Various from the Everglades.

Great photos and I really like that overhead shot - is that from one of the observation towers? I need to get down to the Glades one of these days - I'm just having a hard time convincing the wife (not the outdoor type) that it will be a fun trip.

 

[CTJohn]

Here is a friendly fellow at a sewage treatment pond about 150 miles from my home. We have seen him eat a Blue-winged Teal in one big snap.

He doesn't look like an alligator I would mess with! Cool shot.

Various from the Everglades.

Great photos and I really like that overhead shot - is that from one of the observation towers? I need to get down to the Glades one of these days - I'm just having a hard time convincing the wife (not the outdoor type) that it will be a fun trip.

Yes, it's from the observation tower stop on the Shark Valley tram. I love the Everglades. If you do go, drive all the way to the Flamingo Visitor Center area. Eco Pond just past there is loaded with feeding birds at 7 a.m. (Egrets, herons, Roseate Spoonbills, etc.)

 

[mackguyver]

Here is a friendly fellow at a sewage treatment pond about 150 miles from my home. We have seen him eat a Blue-winged Teal in one big snap.

He doesn't look like an alligator I would mess with! Cool shot.

Various from the Everglades.

Great photos and I really like that overhead shot - is that from one of the observation towers? I need to get down to the Glades one of these days - I'm just having a hard time convincing the wife (not the outdoor type) that it will be a fun trip.

Yes, it's from the observation tower stop on the Shark Valley tram. I love the Everglades. If you do go, drive all the way to the Flamingo Visitor Center area. Eco Pond just past there is loaded with feeding birds at 7 a.m. (Egrets, herons, Roseate Spoonbills, etc.)

Thanks for the answer and tips!

 

[Phil L]

This guy came up with a fresh caught blue crab in a South Carolina salt marsh yesterday evening.

 

[mackguyver]

This guy came up with a fresh caught blue crab in a South Carolina salt marsh yesterday evening.

Nice one, Phil - looks like he's enjoying his meal! I heard/saw one eating a white crab of some kind at a distance - the sound is something, isn't it?

 

[Phil L]

This guy came up with a fresh caught blue crab in a South Carolina salt marsh yesterday evening.

Nice one, Phil - looks like he's enjoying his meal! I heard/saw one eating a white crab of some kind at a distance - the sound is something, isn't it?

Once you hear that crunch, it's a sound you won't soon forget.
I'm happy you liked the photo.

I liked that you got shots of them walking. That's always cool to see. It's probably about the closest thing we have to a living dinosaur.