Two Year Old Dragged Into Lagoon By Alligator At Disney Resort

originally posted by: 123143
Why in the world are there alligators at Disney World in the first place?

This is why:

An estimated 5 million American alligators are spread out across the southeastern United States. Roughly 1.25 million alligators live in the state of Florida.

Basic Facts About American Alligators

It's kind of where they live.

I bet you think that deer crossing signs should be moved to roads with less traffic so they're not hit as often, too.

a reply to: jadedANDcynical

Disney World must be huge.

a reply to: 123143

The lake itself is quite large:

Seven Seas Lagoon – A 200-acre, man-made lagoon for sailing, swimming and special nighttime water shows.

–p. 11, The Story of Walt Disney World

imagiNERDing

So it looks like it was originally intended to be used recreationally. As another poster mentioned, they had to scrap that when it became evident how populous and persistent the gators are.

They pulled four out and killed them, not having found the body of the boy. Another poster mentioned hearing that they had found him but there weren't any confirmed reports.

a reply to: jadedANDcynical

They found him. Looks like he was drowned by the aligator - not eaten.

www.washingtonpost.com...

The resort has a man made lake. Which I believe to basically be a rock pit(many in FL build up to hold the swamp water which normally covered the land) as to why the drop off and why there's a no swimming sign. Alligators come into these man made lakes through the man made canals(which we called them there) through the dams. The canals connect to the sawgrass swamps, other water, etc.

Never had a huge issue with alligators personally as they were just part of the environment as any other. Probably ran into, literally more wildlife in the mountains, just at home, such as coyotes, timber wolves, bear and moose. In fact many had fed them in certain parts, the young anyway. You'd steer clear of the larger ones that were used to park visitors. In other places, man made lakes, visit the park around it, but don't ever go in the water.

So sad about these visitors, so sad overall. While I'm no expert, of course, but from experience a a Floridian, I doubt they are going to find the child in the belly of the gator but rather in the mud of the lake or in another hiding spot where gators hide their food for later. As it sounds like visitors to the Disney resort were feeding the gators already.

Had a gator come into the man made lake where lived in FL. It was a 6 foot one, we had noticed when water fowl was dissapearing. As well as night you'd spot their eyes better from within the water. We also had a large sized gar fish show up, never mind other unknown wildlife who come in from the everglades.

Sorry for the long read but hope it helps any questions and that I'm not angering anyone in these tragic times.

Update, He was found intact at the very least.

Members of the sheriff's office dive team located the remains of the toddler around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, nearly 17 hours after the reptile snatched the boy, Demings said. The body was discovered intact, he added.

Source

a reply to: 123143

The question you should be asking is: "Why in the world are there humans in Alligator lands?"

I don't know what the rules where back then, but now, if you build in wetlands you have to mitigate for the destruction of native habitats.

The construction of Disney destroyed a lot of natural living areas, for a lot of wildlife. Maybe the lagoon was supposed to be part of the mitigation process.

The area was home to the alligators and a lot of other wildlife. They belong there. We are the unwanted guest.

Can anyone explain why a gator would drag a kid into the water then not eat the body ?

I would have expected the body to be devoured.

Crocodilians such as the alligator are predators with ineffective teeth action - they can bite prey to kill it but can't tear flesh or chew. Small enough prey are swallowed whole while for larger prey, such as a deer, the carcass is cached underwater and left to rot (or "ripen") until it is easy to eat.

en.wikipedia.org...(animal_behavior)

a reply to: bigyin

I really wish I had not wondered, as you did

This is truly tragic. I can't imagine the horror the parents experienced and are still experiencing.

I wish Disney would educate visitors regarding the dangers.

Every time we were in Florida, we were always cautious of swampy areas. Walking the dog, we gave water and hidden areas a wide berth, and always stayed alert. Gators are everywhere down there.

ETA: Sometimes there are house hunter type shows on HGTV where people are looking for a home in Florida, and they want a home on water, a lake or a canal, and they have children. I am always shaking my head at that, thinking - what the heck people. Why would you want to live there?
.

a reply to: BlueAjah

Ok thanks for the info. I didn't know that. Makes some sense I guess. I've seen videos where crocs spin prey around until bits break off usually working in groups where each croc holds the prey and between them they can break it up. I can see if it's just one on it's own it may not have that option.

a reply to: BlueAjah

ETA: Sometimes there are house hunter type shows on HGTV where people are looking for a home in Florida, and they want a home on water, a lake or a canal, and they have children. I am always shaking my head at that, thinking - what the heck people. Why would you want to live there? 

We have forgotten how to live in unison with nature. We no longer have respect for other living entities. Many relationships on our planet were meant to be symbiotic. When we destroy the foundation of living relationships, we create an imbalance.

Living in an healthy relationship with nature is a beautiful and enriching experience. I have lived almost all my life in rural areas and I love communing with nature. Most of nature is quite predictable, though mistakes are not often readily forgiven.

You learn, fairly quickly, the rules of nature. Some of those lessons can be quite painful on many levels. As far as why would I prefer to live with nature, over the supposed civilized world? For me, I would rather take my chances with the rare rogue four legged critter, than the more common two legged beast.

originally posted by: bigyin
Can anyone explain why a gator would drag a kid into the water then not eat the body ?

I would have expected the body to be devoured.

Most alligators snatch prey they can eat in one bite. The bigger prey is usually left to rot before it's eaten, which could account for the child left in the water and not immediately devoured.

They can also spin the big prey to break off chunks if they can't eat it in one bite. Yes, that's the "death roll". (Shudder)

a reply to: BlueAjah

Oh, I see you posted that already. Sorry I missed it.

Where was the marine biologist on duty when the resort decided to have a movie showing outside at 9 pm on the beachfront near a live habitat for gators during gator mating season?

Surely if he were doing his job he would have not allowed it.

a reply to: veracity

The lagoon is connected to canals and waterways that in turn connect to open bodies of water.

They have 'No Swimming' signs posted. But nothing specifically about '...or gators will kill you'

It's never been an issue up until now. Obviously they're going to re-think their signage after this tragedy. The little boy wasn't 'swimming', just wading near the shore...which just happens to be the perfect gator strike zone.

Animal control in Florida generally puts down 'nuisance gators', ie ones that have lost their fear of humans or shown aggression, but no matter how hard you tried one would be guaranteed to pop up every now and then. Since this incident they've killed 4 or 5 in the area and are trying to determine if one of them is the 'suspect'.

Sorry for no links, all of the above is from memory- taken from various news articles, you are welcome to double check the validity of said statements. I'm too hot/lazy/pregnant right now.

a reply to: veracity
Ok, I did double check one fact:
Disney Gator Story

The boy’s father fought to retrieve his son without success. A lifeguard also rushed to the scene.

I seemed to recall something about a lifeguard. So, apparently even though the lagoon had 'no swimming' signs, they still had a lifeguard close enough to try to respond. But still...too late.

Not sure how much it has to do with this incident, but the above article also includes:

While wildlife authorities praised Disney’s efforts to manage the alligator population that is bound to invade, one Disney employee told The Orlando Sentinel it’s the human visitors that heighten the problems. In an email, the unnamed employee said, “There is such a problem on property with guests feeding the alligators thinking it’s cool.” He said there are two alligators people feed regularly from the balconies at the Buena Vista Palace.

originally posted by: ladyvalkyrie
I seemed to recall something about a lifeguard. So, apparently even though the lagoon had 'no swimming' signs, they still had a lifeguard close enough to try to respond. But still...too late.

The lifeguard ran over from a nearby pool when they heard the shouting.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I figured something like that. Why have 'no swimming' then post a lifeguard? I was just answering veracity's question about Disney staffing of the area- to the best of my ability, I'm not an expert, just a keyboard jockey like everyone else on here! Lol!

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Rainforest Café has 2 marine biologist (this is much more than just a lifeguard) on their payroll per restaurant, for those of you who don't know what rainforest café is, its a mall restaurant (there is also one in Disney) surely Disney Resorts has these Marine Biologists as well.

What do they say about this?

Or...

Disney decided not to hire extra help for the safety of the guests or the safety of the animals?

originally posted by: ladyvalkyrie
I figured something like that. Why have 'no swimming' then post a lifeguard?

The lifeguard was not posted at the lagoon, they were at a nearby pool.