The local lake here in central Mississippi has a few small 'gators. The largest I've seen was about 6 to 8 feet long (hard to judge since you have to come around at night to see them out of the water). Even the small ones make an incredible commotion (practically an explosion) in the water if you happen to surprise them in a situation where they decide to "escape." I've watched them watching stray dogs on shore, cruising slowly along parallel to the shore. They also seem to become much more interested in my kayak when my little dog is aboard. She gets relocated from the deck to my lap when 'gators are nearby. I've also taken to doing frequent "Crazy Ivans" when cruising home with her in the evenings when the 'gators begin to hunt. Even at that, last time out, I wasn't aware we were followed until I was loading the kayak back on the truck and noticed a suspicious bump in the water a few yards offshore. Flashing my pocket light at it returned the familiar twin yellow glows. Sasha went into the truck cab so I could finish packing up without having to keep her away from the water. Ira Adams On 9/21/99 11:37 AM gpwecho_at_juno.com (gpwecho_at_juno.com) wrote: >Alligators can be found in many places around Louisiana. Paddling around >them has not been a problem for me ...so far ! I don't mind seeing one >at a distance while he "makes a wake" to where ever it is he is going. >If the gator leaves me alone, I'll gladly reciprocate. There have been >a few times when the gator seemed not to be doing anything but "eyeing me >and/or kayak" from a beam-on position in the water. When that big head >and those eyes slowly sink, I will admit to a few anxious moments of >thinking "what's he up to now ?" >I think I landed almost on top of a basking alligator a few years ago. >The shore grass was high and thick. As I "swissshed" aground a huge >commotion roiled the water and something not small made its get-away. It >could have been a nutria but they usually are pretty wary. >The only safety precaution I know of regarding gators and water is to not >have a dog along with you. Urban legend ? ...unsure; scientific >principle ? ...unknown; good advice ? ...you bet ! Thankfully, wet >polyethylene doesn't smell like wet dog ! Hmmm ...now about these >paddling shoes ! >...adieu ...Peyton (Louisiana) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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