Too Soon?

NPHuskerFL

As if the mass murder at Pulse in Orlando wasn't enough. Now a toddler is a snack for an alligator. 

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/mb/news/local/florida/child-believed-dead-after-gator-attack-at-disney-resort/244989385

Sad for the little fella that got snagged up. And sorry for his family and all those involved in the rescue/recovery efforts. Disney World, Universal, MGM, Animal Kingdom etc may be fun places but, it is still FL and gators are here. We've had a few in the backyard. 
Now onto the meat of this. No wadding or swimming signs with alligator signs and they let a 2 year old wade out in 2ft of water. Brilliant!
What? Now you think I'm heartless?  I'm not. It hurt me to see these folks are from Elkhorn, NE. A trip they'll never forget. Bless this family. 

And sometimes Gators are good for society. 
http://www.wftv.com/news/local/deputies-alleged-burglar-killed-alligator-while-fl/20235204

XLentEGG

Never too soon in Da' Burg !!....... I guess wading ain't the same as swimmin' :-)
On the serious side though , I guess having been around them for most of my life has giving me an awareness that others may not have , when it comes to gators.. Sad none the less..

bgebrent

Tragic story for sure.  I can't imagine being either parent.  That said, the child shouldn't have been within 10 feet of the water.  Very sad.

NPHuskerFL

Father and Lifeguard tried to wrestle the little boy from the gator. Sad for sure. 

Jeremiah

We've been following it all day because we're going next weekend and staying on the same lagoon at the Polynesian. (We will not be getting close to the water.) 

My heart has been broken all day reading this. I really don't think I could live through the loss of my child. 

tarheelmatt

Looking at my little girl while even thinking about this gave me a gut punch feeling in my stomach.  

Sea2Ski

Got to remember that not everyone has "common sense" for an area or situation they are not familiar with. I was in FL last year and standing by the water watching some manatees.  A guy stopped to see what we were looking at. Then he said that we should back up some.  We felt safe. Things looks fine. Then he pointed to a gator that was swimming 15 feet from us.  Never saw him and never even thought about them. We do not have them in PA, so why would we. 

Conversely I have seen people offshore fishing doing "stupid" stuff.  Things I would never do because I know better.  They just don't know till you explain. I bet if someone... Anyone said something to make them aware, things might have been different. 

No one is to blame here. Not the parents, the hotel, the alligator or anyone.  

Sad ad situation for all. 

JohnInCarolina

I think I read that there were no swimming signs.   But were there signs indicating the presence of alligators?  

bgebrent

I agree @Sea2Ski and wasn't throwing stones.  I grew up in Florida so it was common sense for us.  Coming from NE, at Disney...they wouldn't have the necessary insight.  Just tragic.

Sea2Ski

Just to be 100% explicitly clear, I wasn't targeting you @bgebrent or anyone else. Just posting my thoughts and opinions.  No worries.  You are still "one of my very favorites"....,

MaC122

The whole thing just sucks. I have a kid  a little older than him but I would not have let him in that water, especially if a pool is right around the corner. But I guess I live in Florida so I know the dangers. I still feel bad for the parents even if they were ignorant about Florida alligators. I guess there is some things I don't know about Nebraska but I sure as hell don't need a "watch out for tornadoes sign" if I happen to visit there.

Jeremiah

JohnInCarolina said:

I think I read that there were no swimming signs.   But were there signs indicating the presence of alligators?  

Yes.  At least I'm pretty sure there were. 

Not that I'm discounting the father's efforts, but this leads to our (as a society) in whole complacency. We have come to have a level of comfort thinking someone else is always watching out for our safety; that we can let our guard down and relax. That there's no crazy deranged people with guns, no alligators, no bears in park, etc. As Blake said, this is Florida. There's alligators in every body of water, and it's YOUR duty to keep yourself, and your family safe. 

NPHuskerFL

@JohnInCarolina RE: alligator sign. Don't believe so. Cue ambulance chasing bloodsucking attorney. 

New catch all signs for FL. 
BE AWARE OF:  Sharks, Alligators, snakes, fish with and without teeth, bears, cougars, panthers, wild monkeys.....
Oh and enjoy your vacation here in FL 

Jeremiah

To add: we've had our feet wet in the same lagoon (pond) you just don't think that a place like that is that dangerous. It's not as if your deep in the Everglades. This is Disney ground zero. I'm sorry.  I'm just reeling for this family, and attempting to rationalize. 

Botch

One very big similarity with the kid that fell into the gorilla cage last week.
One very big difference.  
 
I wonder why.  

Eggcelsior

From what I've read this may have been a rogue gator that was cruising pond to pond since they normally aren't found in that lagoon/pond. Either way, I'm never going to get into any fresh body of water in Florida where I can't see the bottom. I'd rather just play in the big shark tank that's salty. There is a reason gators watched dinosaurs come and go and are still chillin' in the swamp 250 million years into their existence. Homies don't eff around.

Davec433

From what I've heard they've killed 4 already in that pond. I'm surprised they let their kid wade in the water it's nasty.

Lit

This is sad for sure my wife and I were just talking about what we would do if this happened to our 18 month old. Not sure how life could carry on but this really is just a very random incident. I caught gators off my dock growing up on the Indian river and we also swam back there and hydro slided and wake boarded all the time in canals where gators were all about and nobody ever got bit. Certain things make you a prime target for a gator and splashing around along the bank is where the attacks that do happen usually occur. I grew up in Florida and wouldn't have even given it a second though to play in the lake it's something we grew up doing. 

Hans61

And the kid in the gorilla pit wasn't that long ago, things happen so fast...

JohnInCarolina

Well Disney invaded the back yard of the alligators, not the other way around.  

DoubleEgger

Interestingly enough, I haven't seen anyone take the alligators side on this one. 

Eggcelsior

DoubleEgger said:

Interestingly enough, I haven't seen anyone take the alligators side on this one. 

I have nothing against the local SEC college mascot. Nature does not pause for humans to get out of the way. 

nolaegghead

Sad story.  Since about 1 person a year dies from alligator attacks in the US (what's that, 1 in 300 million, it's not exactly something we spend too much time thinking about. And being at a busy Disney Park, probably doesn't help put up your guard.

Now that we've doubled (100% increase in alligator fatalities in 1 day) the perceived risk, I'm really surprised the proposal of culling all alligators hasn't entered the lexicon of primary politics.

nolaegghead

DoubleEgger said:

Interestingly enough, I haven't seen anyone take the alligators side on this one. 

I will.  You can't blame the alligator - he's doing what he does in the wild.  Hunt.

caliking

I agree ... That it's too soon. 

Foghorn

I skied in that lake for a lot of summers.  There were definitely some gators to the north of that property on the canal where we kept the ski boat by the building where the parade floats are kept. But the sandy beaches at all the hotels were good for swimming at the time. 

Wolfpack

Can't imagine the guilt and second guessing the father will feel for the rest of his life.  Went from a vacation of wonderment to tragedy in a split second.

heart breaks for the family- hopefully they can weather it together but I'm sure it's going to be very difficult.  

Tough to fathom- 

dmchicago

The sandy beach, which I assume is man made, sort of invites you to the water. 

Sad deal. 

Hub

From local news reports "there were no signs warning of alligators in the water at the Disney Resort and this was the first alligator incident in the resort's 45 year history."

bgebrent

Sea2Ski said:

Just to be 100% explicitly clear, I wasn't targeting you @bgebrent or anyone else. Just posting my thoughts and opinions.  No worries.  You are still "one of my very favorites"....,

Ya man, didn't feel targeted.  You made me recognize I sounded like I was potentially blaming the parents.  I wasn't so I explained.  I agree with you and @Lit.  Just sad.

Ozzie_Isaac

We go to Disney every year.  We see small gators in the ponds all the time.

My wife grew up in the south.  She got mad when I went near the water at night and I'm a full grown adult.

I feel real bad for the parents and the child.  Its a terrible way to learn a lesson.  I will say, never once has any Disney employee mentioned gators.  They try very hard to give the impression of happiest & safest place on earth.