Close calls with alligators

[absolutecountry]

You're right, he wasn't scuba diving, he was in a relatively shallow cove very close to the levee. Nobody said he was scuba diving, just that he had been attacked. I wonder, was he leaning on the "Please do not feed the alligators" sign that he had to walk around to get to the water while he was "looking" for alligators?

 

[Mark Michaud SELAUSAR]

This is not from diving but this is a few yards from I-10 and about 1/4 mile from my house. Happened today. Really sad.

11-year-old boy fighting for life after gator attack - attempts to reattach arm | News for New Orleans, Louisiana | Top Stories | News for New Orleans, Louisiana | wwltv.com

 

[Mark Michaud SELAUSAR]

Update...........gator 10'8" located and killed. Arm recovered. Young man is struggling to survive.

Boy's Arm Recovered After Alligator Attack - New Orleans News Story - WDSU New Orleans

 

[Farrah Fossil]

They are really active at night. If you want to find the huge shark teeth, you gotta put up with the neighbors.

Or you could come on down to Venice, FL to look for huge teeth. My theory is that sharks don't really want to eat me but gators might think I'm a tasty treat - no diving in the Peace River this time of year.

 

[jhayes75]

I don,t think gators can open there mouths underwater. They do have a flap that they close that keeps the water out, but if I remember right, they do this on the surface not subsurface. I could be wrong. Also female gators are probably protecting eggs this time of year. Our local hatchery will start to harvest them in about two weeks. Last summer I was planning on volunteering for this great adventure. The idea of stealing eggs from 10 foot gators and having only a pole for defense has to be a rush.

 

[dkramer]

I don,t think gators can open there mouths underwater. .

Not true. They have a guy down here called Manny. You may have seen him on the Discovery Channel. Anyway, he's crazy. One show was of him snorkling in the everglades. Big ole gator came after him & there was video of it's mouth open under water. Ya'll can have that stuff. I'll swim with the sharks but no way a gator, especially at night!

 

[ScubaSteve]

Not true. They have a guy down here called Manny. You may have seen him on the Discovery Channel. Anyway, he's crazy. One show was of him snorkling in the everglades. Big ole gator came after him & there was video of it's mouth open under water. Ya'll can have that stuff. I'll swim with the sharks but no way a gator, especially at night!

I am with you on this one. I'll swim with sharks but would probably "warhammer" myself if diving with gators.

 

[Doc Harry]

They are really active at night. If you want to find the huge shark teeth, you gotta put up with the neighbors.

I think I'll get my shark's teeth from a store!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ROMO DIVER]

I can and HAVE felt the OPs anxiety on the Cooper. Last April a few buddies and I traveled to Charleston to dive the Cooper and had a great time. We dove with Cooper River Dive Charters and were very impressed. Came back with numerous shark teeth as well as a mastodon tooth. However, the real thrill was the gator sightings. Living in Mobile, AL makes for numerous gator sightings and have even hunted them. This was the first time that I was "up close and personal" with them though. I had two sightings on the bottom and my brother had one. You learn real quick to keep your light pointed at the bottom and your eyes focused there instead of around you. The first one I saw passed approximately 3 feet in front of me pretty quickly. And in response to the post about them not going very deep, this took place between 35 and 40 feet. The next run in was at 15 to 20 feet and I basically swam up on him lying on the bottom. All I saw was a cloud of silt and a tail. I have been diving for over 20 years and have had some great experiences deep and in caves. However, nothing gets the blood going like swimming with gators.

 

[vtxkev]

Just found this injteresting and related to this thread so here ya go:

Do Alligators Breathe Underwater?
Alligators can’t breathe underwater. But they can stay there for an hour or more. When an alligator submerges, or goes underwater, its heart slows down. The alligator doesn’t have to breathe as often, but the heart still pumps blood to important organs, such as the brain.

Like many animals, alligators have two eyelids to protect each eye. But when an alligator submerges, a third eyelid covers each eye. This eyelid is clear. The clear eyelids act like swim goggles.

Flaps of skin cover an alligator’s ears at all times. But when an alligator submerges, special flaps close off its nostrils and the back of its throat. Nostril flaps keep the alligator from breathing in water. The throat flap lets an alligator open its mouth to catch prey without swallowing water.

Alligators are excellent swimmers. But they don’t swim with their legs. They swim by sweeping their tails from side to side.

Couldnt find anything about how deep they go.