re: [Paddlewise] gators

> From: Nil9000000_at_aol.com
> 
> Any of you GASP paddlers have comments on this issue?


You might try asking them on the GASP list :-)  

Alligators are timid, as Bob says.  Except for a mother protecting her 
babies.  If you see tiny alligators, don't pick them up, but instead, 
leave the area immediately.  A mother alligator, from everything I've 
read, is *very* protective.  And just because you don't see her, doesn't
mean she's not nearby.  They can be tough to spot when resting just below
the surface of the water with only snout and eyes exposed.  

We encountered alligators on Horn Island.  There were timid.  At one
location along the beach, we noticed some strange tracks just a few feet 
east of where we were going to pitch our tent.  It turned out to be the 
tracks of a not-so-small alligator traveling across the beach into the 
Sound.  We moved our tent to another location so we would not be in the 
return path.  But I don't think it would have ever bothered us.  We
paddled back into one of the larger lagoons on Horn Island.  If you
sit very quietly, you might see some eyes and snouts appear about the
water's surface.  Not to mention some spectacular birdlife with strange
calls.  Early in the morning is a good time for viewing the wildlife.

The bugs were what we considered vicious.  The deerflies and a very
small gnat that comes out at dusk.  A mean biter, flies into your
mouth, up your nose, into your eyes.  Take a net for your head and
face.

Jackie
http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/

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