Alligator Attack - Defense Fundamentals

[Walter]

A large gator can easily flip a canoe. Gators rarely attack, but sometimes they do. When they do, they can easily kill any of us. If gators are in the area, it's time to leave.

 

[The Chairman]

A large gator can easily flip a canoe.

I am not sure that I have ever heard of a Gator flipping a canoe. Do we have this documented somewhere?

I do remember back in the fall of 1974 on a canoe trip with my Explorer Post down the St John's River. We had camped just past the north end of Puzzle Lake. It was first thing in the am and I was pulling my canoe out from the others (we were sort of in the middle). I had grabbed the bowline and had kicked the canoe into the river (how tight WAS that knot) when a commotion happened among the canoes. It seemed a nice sized gator had taken cover under our canoes that night and my little bit of jostling had alarmed him.

My heart was in my mouth, but the gator was in the water in a moment without upsetting the canoes a whole lot. A properly loaded canoe with a couple of strapping young boys in it probably weighs 450-500 pounds. I don't think that a gator in the water has the kind of leverage to really upset a quarter of a ton of canoe, gear and humans. Like I said: gators, like fish are opportunistic and they are not calculating. They are not going to approach a canoe that is almost equal their size to pick a fight.

 

[Arete]

It's not like it is a croc

Said like a true Australian

http://australianetwork.com/englishbites/stories/s1234650.htm

5.1m (17ft) croc that learned if you grab a boat by the propeller and shake hard, lunch falls out.

 

[hvulin]

Dive with a buddy and make sure you are faster then him...

 

[Walter]

Nothing documented, Pete, just stories from old crackers. Lots of them have seen very large gators flip small boats with their tails. The tail is almost as dangerous as the other end.

 

[RikRaeder]

Don't you guys watch nature shows? They're always saying that gators and crocs have massively powerful jaws, but only for closing. While wraslin' the gators they always hold the mouth shut since the musculature hasn't much force to open them. All you need to do, after flexing your muscles manfully, is to swim right at the croc and clamp it's jaws shut before it opens up to bite. Seems simple enough! Let me know how that works for you, hm?

 

[cerich]

TODAY ON CNN!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/29/gator.attack.reut/index.html

a side effect of a crack addiction that isn't normally addressed....

 

[ReefGuy]

When I was at FSU, I had a couple of friends go down to the St. Marks river (which is loaded with gators) and rent a canoe. They got totally smashed and decided to start smacking gators with their paddles.

They got what they deserved. They picked on a largish gator, smacked him good, and he promptly flipped their canoe. They called me because they had lost their wallets, keys, everything but their lives. I had to drive down there with their spare car keys so they could get home.

I am not sure that I have ever heard of a Gator flipping a canoe. Do we have this documented somewhere?

 

[Thalassamania]

Did the gator flip the canoe or did the drunks tip it over in the excitment?

 

[ReefGuy]

I wasn't there, but they claimed the gator did.