A gator debate is raging in a neighborhood in the Village of Mira Mesa.
A trapper is working to capture three to four 8-foot alligators living in Lake Laguna which is surrounded by homes off Del Mar Drive, Del Rio, Drive, Chula Vista Avenue and Ventura Drive.
But the fate of the alligators has become a sore point in the neighborhood.
Someone during the night apparently went and tried to cut the trapper’s baited lines which had been cast into the water. It was an attempt to “save” the alligators.
Meanwhile, the couple who contacted authorities about the alligators have been the target of verbal threats in the neighborhood.
The alligators in question have grown increasingly aggressive, according to residents of the neighborhood. They show no fear of humans and have been feasting on birds, ducks and turtles in the little body of water.
But they have also been coming closer and closer to humans and houses.
Thus, a trapper is working to capture the alligators.
Captured alligators are not relocated to another body of water, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Trappers, who are contracted by FWC, work for a small stipend and recover their expenses by selling the hides and meat.
Traps have also been set up along a canal in the Village of Bridgeport at Lake Sumter. You can read more about that at the link below:
http://villages-news.com/baited-alligator-traps-set-bridgeport-lake-sumter/
Mating season right around the corner
Alligators live anywhere there is water—lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes, swamps, and even man-made canals, according to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
Mating season for alligators occurs from mid-April through May. To attract females, males display by head-slapping the water and producing a deep rumbling bellow. Once a male-female pair is formed, they will swim together, touch each other’s snouts, and blow bubbles. Mating takes place in the water and when completed, the male disperses and the female is left to search for a place to build her nest.
Female alligators construct nests by mounding up vegetation, sticks, leaves, and mud in a sheltered spot in or near water. Females use their whole bodies during nest construction—body and tail to clear an area, jaws to gather and drag vegetation, and hind legs to dig the hole in the mound for the eggs. After completing the nest, the female will deposit all of her eggs (ranging between 20 and 50) at once and cover them up with more vegetation for incubation. She may move vegetation around to keep the eggs at a fairly constant temperature. Females stay near the nest during incubation and actively defend it from predators like raccoons. Females may also be aggressive toward humans, often hissing and charging at intruders, so alligator nests should never be approached.
