I got my education about dangerous animals the same way I would imagine most folks of a certain vintage did…watching Tarzan movies on Saturday afternoons. Seeing Johnny Weismuller kill that same croc in every movie put the fear of aquatic animals deep in me. I dont think they show them any more.
I went to a cocktail reception for a lawyers’ meeting at the New Orleans zoo a number of years ago. It was at a pavilion at the enclosure for the white crocodiles. There was a low fence between us and the crocs. I stayed well back. They were huge and very scary looking. More so than the lawyers!
My eldest niece fell into our swimming pool when she was a toddler and I was in HS. I immediately jumped in fully clothed and lifted her out. I think the only injury she suffered was my accidentally bumping her head on the edge of the pool as I lifted her up, poor kid.
My mother was also right there and could have jumped in in time, but I was closest and standing, not lying down.
ANYONE who has ever had an active toddler knows how fast they can put themselves in danger, even when you are glued to their every move.
@MomofWildChild , when those white gators were young they resided in the NO aquarium in an exhibit with a glass front so that you could see them both above and below water. That exhibit was what changed forever my estimation of what an alligator is. Above water you see a long sleepy snout and eyes and you “know” that on land that snout is four feet from the hind legs. Seen through the glass you see a dinosaur crouching in the water with hind legs under the body and ready to attack. In water they are nothing like what you see on land.
"Now when I learned about dangerous wild life in Central Florida, I would never vacation there. "
Oh good lord. A little dramatic.
Say mom or dad was standing there at the shoreline holding his hand. I still don’t think it could have stopped the gator have a parent there. Dad tried wrestling the thing and lost.
During the last gator attack at Disney 30 years ago, the father was able to manage to save his child. He was also older than 2. It’s hard to know what could’ve happened in this case.
Implying that the parent should hold the kid’s hand every second doesn’t make sense. No one holds their two year kid’s hand every single second, it would make both of them nuts.
I’m not implying that a parent does or should hold a child’s hand every second. I think that it may be a good idea to hold a toddler’s hand in the water, in the dark, in an environment that is unfamiliar to the child and the parent, that’s my opinion, certainly doesn’t have to be everyone’s.
5-year-old, attacked in his yard and saved by his mother. Scroll down for the list of do’s and don’t’s concerning mountain lions. It’s a long list!
http://www.9news.com/news/local/child-attacked-by-mountain-lion-in-pitkin-county/248018831
According to what I’ve read, the boy who survived an alligator attack was saved by his brother and sister, not his father. Parents not even mentioned.
You are correct @consolation . He is now a father. I saw it on NBC Evening News last week, my mistake. Impressive that his siblings were able to save him.
Sad and scary. I would like to see Disney put up a memorial for the boy at the spot where this occurred. I know it won’t happen.
I agree that the combination of water and toddlers and darkness is disconcerting. Not being there, I don’t know how dark it was, or how far away the parents were. I would guess, to give parents the benefit of the doubt, not that dark, not that far away. But as paranoid as I am about water safety, I don’t think that I would have thought that a gator would suddenly snatch a child at a resort and drag it under the water. The parent could have been standing a foot away, within an arm’s length, and this could still have happened. I feel so bad for the parents. I am sure they are beating themselves up with what ifs.
I’ve had close calls with my kids when they were that age. I have been so lucky. Walking across the street is dangerous. Going shopping in a grocery store with toddlers is dangerous. Going anywhere with toddlers is dangerous. I’m glad my toddlers are grown now.
I am sure Disney will be sued, and they will pay financially. The question is, how to warn people not from Florida about the dangers of alligators? Should they put warnings on the tickets? I agree that signs should be posted. Maybe there are some. If so, there should be more.
My daughter is going to be starting college in Florida this fall at Rollins. My question for people who live in Florida. I know, may sound naive, but I’m not from there, and I don’t know . . . Do people just not swim in the lakes there? Are you taking the risk of being attacked if you go swimming in a lake there? Someone asked the question on the tour, “are there gators in the lake?” The answer the tour guide gave was something along the lines of, “It’s Florida, and wherever there is water, there are gators. But they tend to stay away from this part of the lake, they tend to stay where it is quieter, not so busy.”
@moooop – that is where I learned about alligators also, Tarzan movies. Only thing is, I think of them as being deep in the jungle because of that. Somewhere far away and exotic. Now that my daughter will be going to school in Florida, and we will be making trips there, I need to be aware that they can be anywhere, backyards, swimming pools. Ugh. Scary.
Yes, people just don’t swim in the lakes here. If you do, you are taking a risk. All freshwater may have gators in it, as well as snakes and very harmful bacteria. We go to the beaches or swim in pools.
Includes video of interview with Paul Santamaria.
Also:
[Quote]
A Disney spokesman told the Orlando Sentinel at the time that resort officials knew there were alligators in the water.
Santamaria’s parents filed a federal lawsuit against Disney in January 1988, court records show. The negligence claim accused Disney of failing to warn visitors about the alligator, which sought out visitors to feed it after “losing its fear of humans,” the Sentinel reported back then.
The lawsuit was terminated in September of that year, records show. Santamaria declined to comment Thursday on whether his family received a financial settlement.
I’ve swum in spring fed lakes in Florida. The water was clear and colder than usual so maybe it wasn’t alligator habitat. Maybe I’m crazy.
Anyway, these are popular swimming spots not far from Orlando that are right off the highway.
We have close friends in Florida who live on a lake. They ski, tube and swim in the lake occasionally, but predominantly use their pool. In ground pools with enclosures are very popular in Florida @mstee .
No one swims in the lake in my community, cuz it’s dirty. There has never been a sighting of an alligator. Lots of ducks do live there, and fish. The beaches near me have not had alligators, but signs are up if there are jellyfish. We always packed for a bite. I never took my young son into the ocean alone. Usually my dad or my mom would be there too. I see the same with other visitors. If a child is building sand castles by the edge, some adult is there too.
When they built near the Everglades, they displaced a lot of the natural habitat.
"5-year-old, attacked in his yard and saved by his mother. Scroll down for the list of do’s and don’t’s concerning mountain lions. "
Maybe no 5 yo should ever go out in the yard again.
“Sad and scary. I would like to see Disney put up a memorial for the boy at the spot where this occurred. I know it won’t happen.”
Of course not. How macabre, for a company that is predicated on providing a nice family experience. I can’t even believe someone would “want” that.