Gators in FL

[Westinghouse]

DO NOT swim or bathe in fresh water canals or ponds. The fact is alligators  can, and will kill and eat human beings. I know of a few cases of alligators killing and eating people in my area, and of course, the same has happened elsewhere. How well would you be able to sleep camping 15 feet from the edge of a pond where 6-10 foot long predator reptiles were cruising along? Me? Not well at all. They are dangerous. Cycling in Florida is safe enough. Just do not place yourself on their food chain, and you will be all right. Exercise due caution.
They can be faster than greased lightning. Stay away from them.

[Spokey]

what would you do if you saw one by the side of the road 50 feet ahead?

[Westinghouse]

Depends on how big the sucker is, how wide the road, how close he is to the side, and what he be doing. Play it safe. The Florida bicycle tourist, a movable feast. Don't wanna be gator bait.

[Bikearound]

Just keep riding...and I guerantee you'll live to tell about it.

[davidlmyers]

Forget about the gators. The Skunkape is on the loose.

[staehpj1]

what would you do if you saw one by the side of the road 50 feet ahead?

Gators on dry land by the side of the road are not hunting and are not that much of a threat.  On the bike trail at Shark Valley probably hundreds of tourists on rental bikes ride withing 10 feet of gators every day by necessity since they are all over the path.  We rode by hundreds of them in the few miles of that trail and for dozens of them it was impossible to not ride withing 10 feet.  Based on that I'd give them as much space as you can, but definitely wouldn't obsess over riding where they live them.

Just to put this into perspective, gators killed about 12 people in 2001-2007 (over 500 people were killed by lightning strikes in the same period).  Take from that what you want, but to me that means the risk is pretty low.  I wasn't a bit concerned when canoe camping in the Everglades, but would avoid swimming places that were prime gator habitat.

[Spokey]

thanks.  Makes me feel better.  I figure if there was a real big risk, I'd hear more about attacks.  But being only used to those cuddly brown bears up here in NJ, I thought I'd try to check it out.  I've only been to Florida once in my life and that was safely ensconced in Wally World with the kids 20 years ago.

We have actually postponed our trip until next year.  Otherwise I would already be a week in to it.  We had planned on making the last shuttle launch (9/16) but that is now in February and I'm not recovering nearly as fast as I thought I would from a knee operation.

[Tourista829]

Chop Chop!

[DaveB]

One place to avoid in Florida is Gainesville.  There are at least 40,000 Gators there during the school year and they can be VERY annoying, particularly on foootball weekends. 

[litespeed]

I live in Florida right on a river - over 300' of riverfront. A large gator - about 10' - basks on the opposite bank from time to time. We are quite fond of the beast. Like most wild animals it is very timid. Just raising my voice will send it scooting into the water.

Gator attacks on humans happen but they are rare. Like most accidents, usually require real stupidity or carelessness on the part of the victim. Just don't swim or dangle your feet in gator infested waters. Attacks on dry land might have happened but I don't recall any. The most common gator victims are dogs. The owner will train Fido to chase after a stick or ball they throw into the water. After a few splashing retrievals to get a nearby gator's attention he will quietly slither out and knosh down on the pooch. Result: no dog and a bawling kid. Some visiting tourists lost their beloved dalmation puppy in exactly this fashion a while back. "Gee, we don't have any alligators in Nebraska".

[Tourista829]

I agree with Dave B about Gainesville, full of Gators (fans). Going to undergrad at Ohio State, I try to avoid riding around there, although they have some pretty good cycling. If you are ever up there and need a place of refuge, Satchels Restaurant has the best pizza and salad bar, bar none. Seriously, I live in Florida, have ridden all over the state, including through the Everglades and I am still here to speak about it. I agree with the others, just be careful where you camp and I would stay out of some of the lakes, ponds, rivers and canals. Do not ride adjacent to canals. Most gators are more afraid of you than you are of them but I still have a very healthy respectful for them. Hurricanes on the other hand, I do worry about especially near Coral gables  

[cyclocamping]

Although I wouldn't try to get too close, I really don't think humans should worry about alligators as long as they use common sense. They rarely attack people. Some unfortunate stories did happen but overall it is quite rare. There are less than 4 deaths a year due to alligator attacks, so technically in Florida you should be much more concerned of being struck by lightning.

[that guy]

I lived in Florida for about seven years and unless you like to take your small dog for walks along the canal beds, there is no reason to be afraid of the gators.

Cool fact: South Florida is one of the only places in the world where you can find gators AND crocodiles!