This is not funny. A 2 yr old kid was wading in a foot of water at Disney Orlando and an alligator snatched and took the kid. No doubt that kid is dead. I have a sense of humor and enjoy joking around but this is not funny!
As a native, I've seen so many tourists feed gators. Not good! They have no idea. It's a wonder these things don't happen more often. Perhaps others do what I do when they see someone acting foolish around a gator.
I've been there at that resort and others on the Disney property. People feed the alligators all the time.
Marshmallows are particularly a favorite of the Gators as they appear like small birds or ducklings floating on the water.
Alligators are a protected species in FL and thus their #s are very large - I'm an animal and wildlife lover but don't like alligators - those things are killing machines and as far as I'm concerned we have too many of them - lots of stories of folks being attacked by gators and being killed or losing limbs.
I have canoed the Peace River out there. You see some bubbles moving across the water and then you see a dark figure of a gator longer than the canoe swim underneath. Scary
I apologize for my insensitivity. I do feel horrible for the family. The last thing a vacationing family in Florida expects at DW is something like this
Terrible I live 2 hours south of there and we have gators in the pond and canal behind my yard. Tourists don't realize how fast these creatures are there have been several small dogs attacked while being walked on a leash.
Terrible week in Orlando.
Wasn't there a time in the late 60's early 70's when the alligator numbers in Florida were so thin, extinction was feared.
I know they have really rebounded. Like an expert said today, a great many lakes and ponds in central florida have alligators no matter how small the size of the water
I was playing golf a couple weeks ago, and guys on the adjacent hole kept yelling something that I couldn't hear. Turns out there was an alligator watching my shot from a hidden location about 20 feet away. This is why I carry a gun everywhere, including to play golf.
Alligators are very common in South Georgia as well as all of Louisiana and Florida. I don't like them either. There's a small river bed behind my grandmother's house and she would see one every once in a while in her back yard. She would not go out to her backyard for days afterward.
@bavarian - not around kids much, huh? Infants no, you hardly have to watch them because they mostly just lie there and frankly are pretty boring until it comes time to try to interpret what they are crying about. Toddlers on the other hand, are what you are referring to and are a handful.
Sounds like the parents were watching the toddler, but unfortunately allowed him to wade in water that was supposed to be off limits. I honestly can't imagine their pain right now.
@a21985 You got it. I don't have any so I don't know the correct terminology. You just have to watch them closely once they start walking. I also don't know when you stop tracking their age in months vs years.
I just saw this on the news broadcast. So tragic. But after hearing the headline I knew it HAD to be a tourist. Having lived in Florida, Floridians know that alligators are a fact of life. I remember as a kid always being cautioned to make sure younger kids a small dogs never got within 45 meters or so from "swampy" rivers, creeks, ponds, lagoons, marshes, etc, anything near the water's edge -- especially with mud or tall grasses. Land near the water is not safe either. There were always 'gators around and they are opportunist ambush predators.
Tourists don't know that.
My heart goes out to the family. Those poor people.
But euthanizing 5 gators? That's just for show for the national media since all eyes are on Orlando now. Killing 5 gators will not bring back the child nor will that even begin to dent the gator population in Florida.
I think I've heard a gator can run up to 30 mph in a straight line (they are very powerful animals) - they say one should run in a zig-zag pattern since they can't maneuver too well w/ their short legs.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The body of a 2-year-old Nebraska boy who was snatched off a Walt Disney World beach by an alligator and dragged underwater was recovered Wednesday, ending a ghastly search at one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations.
Divers found the body of Lane Graves about 16 hours after authorities first got the call that a reptile had taken the boy from the water’s edge at Seven Seas Lagoon despite his father’s frantic attempt to save the child.
Sheriff Jerry Demings said it appeared the gator pulled the child into deeper water and drowned him, leaving the body near the spot where he was last seen. An autopsy was planned.
“Of course the family was distraught, but also I believe somewhat relieved that his body was found intact,” Demings told a news conference.
The boy’s parents were identified as Matt and Melissa Graves of Elkhorn. A family friend released a statement on behalf of the couple thanking well-wishers for their “thoughts and hope-filled prayers.”
The boy’s parents were identified as Matt and Melissa Graves of Elkhorn, Nebraska, a suburban area of Omaha. A family friend released a statement on behalf of the couple thanking well-wishers for their “thoughts and hope-filled prayers.”
CEO Michael Iaccarino of Infogroup, a marketing company where Matt Graves is chief data officer, said Grave’s family “is the light of his life.”
In a statement from Disney World Resort President George A. Kalogridis, the company said it was “doing what we can” to help the family.
Disney World closed beaches around Seven Seas Lagoon during the search, and it was not immediately clear when they would reopen.
While “no swimming” signs are posted at the beach where the boy was attacked, no signs warn about alligators. A company representative said it would “thoroughly review the situation for the future.”
Demings said his agency and state wildlife officials would look into the issue of warning signs. The sheriff told The Associated Press that investigators would also review whether the boy’s parents should be charged, but it’s not likely.
“There nothing in this case to indicate that there was anything extraordinary” in terms of neglect by the parents, Demings said.
Yeah - I've think I've heard gators/crocs will usually kill it's prey by drowning it first - and sometimes they won't even eat it and will burry it for later consumption.
^Gators absolutely do that. I've seen it first hand (ambush then drag the prey out into the water) in Florida.
They look all slow and lumbering. Then, like Jedi Master Yoda from Episode II during the Count Dooku lightsabre duel, they spring to action with incredible speed for a few seconds. Then slowly sink/submerge themselves underwater, eyes locked on you the entire time. The whole scene reminds one of a morlock snatching an eloi (for those who get the HG Wells reference).
35 comments
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/us/alligat…
The article said "the lake had tons of signs that said alligators present - no swimming." This makes the incident even more disturbing to me.
I've been there at that resort and others on the Disney property. People feed the alligators all the time.
Marshmallows are particularly a favorite of the Gators as they appear like small birds or ducklings floating on the water.
Terrible week in Orlando.
I know they have really rebounded. Like an expert said today, a great many lakes and ponds in central florida have alligators no matter how small the size of the water
Infants are just an accident waiting to happen. You have to keep an eye on them constantly.
Sounds like the parents were watching the toddler, but unfortunately allowed him to wade in water that was supposed to be off limits. I honestly can't imagine their pain right now.
How old is your son? Oh, he's 38 months old. LOL
A warning for all you younger fellows on here that have young children, NEVER take your eyes off them, NEVER!
Tourists don't know that.
My heart goes out to the family. Those poor people.
But euthanizing 5 gators? That's just for show for the national media since all eyes are on Orlando now. Killing 5 gators will not bring back the child nor will that even begin to dent the gator population in Florida.
Divers found the body of Lane Graves about 16 hours after authorities first got the call that a reptile had taken the boy from the water’s edge at Seven Seas Lagoon despite his father’s frantic attempt to save the child.
Sheriff Jerry Demings said it appeared the gator pulled the child into deeper water and drowned him, leaving the body near the spot where he was last seen. An autopsy was planned.
“Of course the family was distraught, but also I believe somewhat relieved that his body was found intact,” Demings told a news conference.
The boy’s parents were identified as Matt and Melissa Graves of Elkhorn. A family friend released a statement on behalf of the couple thanking well-wishers for their “thoughts and hope-filled prayers.”
The boy’s parents were identified as Matt and Melissa Graves of Elkhorn, Nebraska, a suburban area of Omaha. A family friend released a statement on behalf of the couple thanking well-wishers for their “thoughts and hope-filled prayers.”
CEO Michael Iaccarino of Infogroup, a marketing company where Matt Graves is chief data officer, said Grave’s family “is the light of his life.”
In a statement from Disney World Resort President George A. Kalogridis, the company said it was “doing what we can” to help the family.
Disney World closed beaches around Seven Seas Lagoon during the search, and it was not immediately clear when they would reopen.
While “no swimming” signs are posted at the beach where the boy was attacked, no signs warn about alligators. A company representative said it would “thoroughly review the situation for the future.”
Demings said his agency and state wildlife officials would look into the issue of warning signs. The sheriff told The Associated Press that investigators would also review whether the boy’s parents should be charged, but it’s not likely.
“There nothing in this case to indicate that there was anything extraordinary” in terms of neglect by the parents, Demings said.
They look all slow and lumbering. Then, like Jedi Master Yoda from Episode II during the Count Dooku lightsabre duel, they spring to action with incredible speed for a few seconds. Then slowly sink/submerge themselves underwater, eyes locked on you the entire time. The whole scene reminds one of a morlock snatching an eloi (for those who get the HG Wells reference).