Apparently there's Worse things than Sharks

Very sad story, hope the family can find some peace.   

ETA - as someone else who has an irrational fear of sharks I didn't want to click on the link.  I did hoping it didn't end the way it seems to.

Edited by Goggles Pizzano 2016-06-15 9:13 AM

Sharks for the most part only bite humans by mistake, and we all swim with them anytime we are in the ocean or bay whether you know it or not.

Gators and crocs on the other hand are just plain killers, they don't care what they eat as long as it fits in their mouths.

Edited by mike761 2016-06-15 10:33 AM

Thoughts and prayers to the family - something like that happening on vacation to my kid(s) would crush me.



Not according to the state wildlife folks. From a USAToday article:

"Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which spearheaded the search, said the American alligator was feeding and likely confused the small child for a dog or a raccoon. The gators do not typically feed on humans. “People – even small people – are not their typical prey,” he said.

Wildlife officials count around a dozen alligator bites a year in Florida, but fatalities from the reptiles are far less common. There have been only 23 fatalities caused by alligators in Florida since the 1940s, Wiley said. Tuesday's incident is the first known alligator attack at the Seven Seas Lagoon, he said."

23 deaths in 76 years isn't zero, but I would guess it is on par with deaths from other marine animals.

There is nothing worse then loosing your child!

Horrible, horrible. I don't know how that family will pull the pieces back together. They have my prayers.

I don't think most people (other than those from Florida) realize that gators are nearly as plentiful as friggin' squirrels down here. Any water deeper than a puddle could harbor a gator or a moccasin. I have logged many hours at WDW and have never seen a gator in the park, with that said, why WDW would allow anyone near the water, especially at night, is beyond me. WDW is a tight run ship but they really blew this one.

I saw this and thought it was horrible. I can't imagine wrestling a gator with its jaws clamped on my child just to have it get away. I bet the father feels horrible and its sad this child's life ended this way. I see they had no swimming signs, but wonder if they were the type with pictures of alligators on them which I see on school campuses. I can see how it could be misleading building a man made beach around a lake then posting no swimming signs. Much sympathy to the family and deceased.

I see gators all the time and like black bears I have always viewed them as potentially dangerous but so skittish I feel fairly secure around them, but then you hear stories like this and it's a tragic reminder. It's good to know seasons and situations where these animals may act more aggressively. I did see in an old news article where a man fought off an alligator while training for a triathlon. He believed he swam up over it in shallow water which startled the gator and caused it to attack him. It makes me even more cautious since they found Nile crocs this year. I'm always uneasy in freshwater due to alligators and that brain eating amoeba.

There are plenty of people who swim with sharks, not so many who swim around playing with gators.
Gators were also hunted to near extinction which had the population way down for many years. They also tend to kill or put into captivity the large ones which eat anything; not the case with sharks. I believe this is the 3rd person in Orlando that was killed by a Gator in the past 12 months.

I was thinking something like this too. My husband and I knew after living in Florida for 10 years when we had kids to watch out with toddlers near water in mating season (or ever). We like to bike through the everglades (Shark Valley) but took a break until they were older. But I would never expect somebody who wasn't from here to have any idea.

It's a terrible story like a horror film coming to life. Just tragic.

Not quite, first, American alligators are not salt water or Nile crocodiles. They are not very aggressive and will generally scatter when humans are around. The bigger ones get belligerent, but they are not intrinsically man-eaters. I have done numerous races in alligator-positive rivers and bayous, never gave it a thought. Would not do this in water with crocodiles. Second, wouldn't get in the water at night and the mating season comments are spot on. Third, no way I'm believing that 3 people got killed by gators in the entire US in the last year, let alone the city of Orlando.

Truism for central FL region as a whole. This list is accurate from what I can recall, 3 since Oct last year with another found  likely after death.  Note, if a FL criminal don't try and hide/escape in waters!

I don't know if any of you read this but we have a winner for the Darwin award here:

"Suffered severe trauma to a limb and was drowned by an alligator that attacked him at a marina in Orange County, Texas. Warning signs had been posted after the alligator had been spotted in the water, but Woodward ignored the signs and his friends' pleas not to swim; he reportedly taunted the alligator before jumping in."

There used to be a triathlon at Disney with the swim in bay lake. The transition was at fort wilderness. Did it a few years without incident. There was also a Danskin women's tri held there a few times with transition at Magic kingdom right next to the Grand Floridian.
Don't swim in murkey lakes in Florida at night.