Being
able to see alligators in their preferred environment (the water) in a
natural setting is a wonderful thing. But, having one walk in front of
me less than ten feet
away is stupendous! Being near enough to see
their quiet assessment of trail conditions--being close enough to see that
spark of awareness in their black eyes--
and then watching as this creature
ponderously lifts itself and slowly makes its way; is something I could
never take for granted. It
is a rare gift from the park, and
I've been lucky enough to recieve it
more than once.
Alligators
lie on the shore to absorb heat. During this time, they are quite content
to lie still. However, imagine
that you walk out your front door and discover
a large unknown dog sleeping in the sun. Most of us would know better than
to approach such a dog too closely. If
we approach cautiously, the dog
will let us know when we've gotten close enough. Perhaps we might hear
a growl, or notice a slight baring of teeth at first. That's
a signal most
of us understand, and it means that we have gotten close enough. If we
ignore this, we may hear and see other signals (hackles raised, lots of
teeth,
raised head), with each signal representing an invisible "line"
that we were asked not to cross. Depending on how quickly we move, these
signals can escalate
quickly, or slowly. The final step, of course, could
be the dog's retreat; but it could be an attack of some kind, usually
a bluff, but once teeth are unsheathed,
accidents can happen.
Alligators
are animals too, not some kind of monster. They will exhibit basically
the same type of behavior (they don't growl, but they do hiss; and believe
me, that
will get your attention). They can also perform escalating series
of sounds and movements, and they also can rush if provoked. Wild animals
deserve respect, and
that includes their "personal space". They are the
ones who decide what distance is comfortable, and the space between them
feeling safe and feeling threatened
(and therefore requiring defense) could
be just one step.
Alligators
don't sweat, and they don't pant. Occasionally, however, they will open
their mouth in a wide gape, and keep it that way for minutes...lots of
minutes. I've
read that this is to help regulate body temperature by using
the tissues inside their mouth as additional surface area for heat exchange.
I've seen it most often not
long before an alligator is going to enter
the water. The wide, unmoving gape is therefore not intended as a
threatening gesture.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
LET ME BASK!
OCTOBER
07, 2001 While making the rounds, we received
word that a large alligator had crawled up onto the path, and was almost
blocking it, forcing people to walk around it
(LET
ME BASK, above). Well, this is a hazardous situation all around.
For one thing, park visitors are supposed to leave the alligators right-of-way
at all times, and are supposed to
stay at least 30 feet away from them.
Evidently, some of the visitors were ignoring this rule (there are signs
everywhere). We rode over in one of the John Deere "Gators" and sure
enough,
the creature shown in the picture was there (I'd estimate this to be around
10 feet long.) We were able to coax it into the water. That wasn't the
most interesting part. No...
that was the much larger alligator who was
in the water about 20 feet away. That one had to be at least 12
feet long. It was HUGE! It leisurely turned and slowly swam out
parallel
to, and at the pace of the 10-footer. I'm sure I could have easily
ridden on its back (if I'd had a sudden attack of foolishness). It dwarfed
our gas-powered "Gator", that's for sure.
I later heard that both
of these alligators had been on the path...forcing people to walk around
them. What I don't understand is WHY these people haven't the sense
to just go the
other way. I've got to figure out a way to carry a
video camera with me all the time...or at least get a better digital camera.
What a sight!
OCTOBER
14, 2001 (Sunday) After a rainy saturday, when a cold front
came through, today was a huge improvement. The sun was briliant all day
long. So, by the end of the day,
the temperature was warm, but not uncomfortable.
After noon, the alligators decided that they also thought it was a nice
day. They enjoyed it so muchthat they decided to
sunbathe...on the paths...where
the people are. A few really big ones decided to come out. The one
in this
picture was...well you can see it. People on the path were wise enough
to give them lots of room, but since one path was a loop, and there were
large alligators at two different spots at points almost opposite from
each other on the loop, people couldn't
turn around and go the other way.
I was forced to...ask some of the alligators to move. I asked them very
politely; and, they were gracious enough to move. The pictures below
(PATH
1) AND (PATH 2) show one of the
other alligators. That's me in the picture with the big one (I'm the guy
with the stick). I took path one and path 2 just before I persuaded,
with
extreme care, this big guy (about 10 feet long) to move. I estimate the
one in the picture with me to be about 12 feet long. CLICK HERE
to see a bigger version of the picture
with me. REMEMBER,
I WORK AT THE PARK. NEVER APPROACH THIS CLOSE TO AN ALLIGATOR!!!
-----
Me with the big one
PATH 1
PATH 2
From about 10 feet
behind.
From about 6 feet alongside.
OCTOBER
20, 2001Sick of alligators
yet? Well, I'm not, so I suppose you could make your own, alligator-free,
webpage. This is where one path is actually near the "end" of the
water.
People coming from one direction are just entering the marshy
area, and are not expecting to see anything interesting yet. People going
in the other direction can see the end of the water,
and aren't expecting
to see much, either. This is at a bend in the trail. There, not just one,
but two fair-sized alligators (about 8 feet long) were just lounging in
the sun. I'd heard about this and
had walked over to see if there was a
problem. There really wasn't. The alligators were facing away from the
path, and weren't really that close to it. I decided to ask the one nearest
the path
to move, anyway. Of course, a photo opportunity presented itself,
and so here I am in this old RICKUBISCAM
shot. I asked the one in the forground (his tail is on the path)
to move. The three
pictures below (move 1,
move 2 and move 3) show his answer.
Click on the images to see them larger. Click here
to see the "two gators and I"
larger.
----
Two
'gators and I
Move
1
Move
2
Move 3
Move
1: I'm standing about 6 feet behind. Note his raised head, as he checks
me out.
Move
2: He was sort of ignoring me, then suddenly he got up and started walking.
Cool! I don't normally see them
get
up and walk. It's kind of a shock to see this relatively inanimate "log"
get up.
Move
3: He went into the water. He slid into the water...and then turned around
and came right back out, walking towards me until he got all the way out
of the water. Then
he laid down again. Oh, well. At least he was further
from the path.
Remember,
NEVER
APPROACH THIS CLOSE TO AN ALLIGATOR! I WORK AT THE PARK. YOU DON'T.
IT'S ALSO AGAINST THE LAW TO MOLEST ANIMALS AND PLANTS
IN A STATE PARK.
November
3, 2001
Well, the alligators were really moving around today! I was very happy.
As I left the Visitor's Center, I headed down the Pilant Slough trail,
where I saw this alligator swim by
( Pilant
Slough Gator). At the end of this trail,
I started on the Elm Lake Trail, where I saw this alligator cruising by
(Elm Lake Gator)
. Not much later on, some park visitors told me about some
alligators blocking
the path at 40 acre lake. I went there and saw this (40
Acre Path). Click on the following
pictures to see them larger. Click the links below the pictures to see
video clips of
these scenes.
---
Pilant
Slough Gator 476 kb Elm
Lake Gator 489 kb 40
Acre Path Gator 673 kb
January
27, 2002 As
I've said, alligators were about. I saw this interesting sight, and
just had to include it here. Click on the thumbnail image below (egret)
to see a larger view. The bird is a
Great Egret, and I watched him
tiptoe past this resting alligator.
Click
here to see a short video of this large bird walking softly past
this great reptilian predator.(flv video,
no sound, 735 kb) It
seemed to me that
the egret does a "take" when it realizes what he's standing next to...and
then continues walking, so as not to lose face by fleeing in terror.
Notice how softly it's walking, though.
-------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------EGRET------------------
February
21, 2002 I got a chance to get out to
the park today. Since it was a weekday, it was quiet. The alligators were
out. I was walking down 40 Acre lake trail, when I walked past a clearance
in the wild rice growing along the shore. There was a large alligator
swimming straight towards my position! This is not uncommon, as the
spot is great for basking. Other picture I have on the
alligators pages
were taken at the same spot. So, I moved a little way down the path,
and waited with my video camera on. The alligator stopped just offshore,
and then moved up on the bank.
I was able to get him on video. See clip
one for this activity. (flv video,
no sound, 920kb) I walked past him a little,
and then took a short clip of him basking on the shore. The picture
below
(gatorface)
is taken from that footage. See clip
two for the edited footage. (flv video,
no sound, 438kb)
---------------------
------------ -----Gatorface---
------------------DON'T
EVER TRY
THIS.------
---
March
3, 2002 Back sometime in November
of 2001 (I think) we built a new bridge over a section of the Pilant Slough
trail at Brazos Bend Park. The main reason we built this bridge was
because
there was a path between two bodies of water that was being eroded away
by a large alligator passing back and forth between them. This
alligator had worn down the sides of the
path at this point until there
was only about 3 feet of dry space to walk on. The bridge was put over
this area-and dug out underneath it-to allow the path to remain wide, and
to allow the
alligator to pass under the path. Today, as I was walking
the trail, I saw the footprints shown in the large shot
(footprints
with quarter). There was also an impressive drag path, with a
flattened area in the mud. The round object in the picture (to the left
of the larger print) is a quarter. These were large
footprints.
Click here
to see a larger version of the picture. While
returning later in
the afternoon, I took another shot of these prints (click on the image
to see it larger):
------
-
---Footrprints with quarter------ -----Footrprints
again.------- ---------cold
turtle------------ ---------cold
'gator
One
further note: When I left the Visitor's Center to go onto the
trail at about 12:30, it was about 33 degrees outside, with a brisk wind.
It was cold! In spite of the cold, I saw these two
outside!
(Cold Turtle, Cold 'Gator above). As we looked at each other, I
imagined that we each had the same thought; specifically: "What is
that IDIOT doing out in this weather?"
March
17, 2002 Boy,
where do I start? What a cool day! For now, I'll just describe the rickubiscam
shot for today. Another alligator (probably the same one) was up
on the 40 acre lake trail.
I was required to ask it to move. This time,
a visitor was able to film some of this. Sometime later (I spent at least
an hour staying near the alligator after it had moved the first time) I
needed
to move on, so I asked it to move again. I asked it to move.
DO
NOT EVER ATTEMPT TO DO THIS! I WORK AT THE PARK, AND HAVE STUDIED ALLIGATOR
BEHAVIOR. IT IS
DANGEROUS, AND ALSO ILLEGAL, TO BOTHER ALLIGATORS
(OR ANY OTHER ANIMALS) AT A STATE OR NATIONAL PARK!
To see a video clip of me near the alligator,
click the two following
links. Part 1.
(flv video 1,095 kb) Part
2 (flv video 1,171kb) Or, click the old rickubiscam shot, (DON'T
EVER TRY THIS, ABOVE) just to see it larger.
March
31, 2002
If you want to go to Brazos Bend State Park, and you want to enjoy the
peace and quiet of nature, then do not come on Easter Sunday. That's
all I can say about that without
annoying someone.
We'd
had a storm (with tornados within a mile or so!) Saturday, and a few trees
needed to be moved from the trails.
I spent
most of the day on the trails, making sure that noone molested our animals.
Making this interesting was a large number of small (around 2 feet long)
alligators that were staying near the
trail. I remained near one of these
for a few hours, as it moved along, and fed on small fish. Then, it decided
to come out onto the bank; right near me. So I took advantage of the photo
opportunity (young hunter, below). I keep most images on my pages
at 320 x 240 to allow faster page loading. I know I lose some clarity because
of this. I mention this because the closeup
shows very clearly the sense
organs that an alligator has on its skin. These are called "ISOs" or "Integumentary
Sense Organs" and are thought to aid the alligator in sensing pressure
differences in the water; for instance, when prey might swim within
striking distance. These are located, in alligators, along the lower jaw,
and in a small zone along the upper lip. Click on
either of the images
below (ISO1; ISO2) to see a better view. The ISOs are the
tiny dots visible on the skin.
-------
-------- -YOUNG
HUNTER------ --------ISO1--- -------------------ISO2
Eventually,
as various groups of people arrived and departed, my little friend decided
it was going to cross the trail, and just got up and walked--right past
a small group of people scattered
nearby. This was either very brave, or
really foolish. Click here
to see a small video clip (flv video, 525
kb) of this alligator crossing the trail.
This also brings up another point. In a hatching of
60 alligators (a nest
can have between 20 and 60 eggs), only one alligator will
survive 3 years. Alligators are born at or near the bottom of the food
chain. However, if they survive to adulthood,
they can end up at the top.
Payback time? You bet!
April
14, 2002
The morning alligator social interaction seemed to have been put off, possibly
by the late morning fog at the park. However, alligators were certainly
out basking. Today I show
an alligator "yawning". There has been
some speculation about this behavior, but most sources I've found attribute
it to a method of heat regulation using the linings of the jaws as a heat
exchanger. Sometimes, though, the jaws will briefly be opened very wide,
as opposed to the usual gaping position. Click here for a small clip
showing a wide yawn. (flv video,
354 kb) I asked
another alligator to move off one of the trails also.
Last
Thursday (April 11th) was also quite interesting. I got to see a large
alligator crossing the trail (and filmed it!) click
here to see the clip (flv video 395 kb),
and also saw more bellowing.
This time a large male was close to the trail.
( See Bellow Position, below). I got a good clip with my video
camera. Click on 3
bellows (flv video 775 kb)
to see some of it. I also took a small
clip using my digital camera. This
has sound. Click to see and hear another
bellow. (flv video 493 kb)
By the way, this clip, the "wide yawn" clip, the young
alligator walking clip, and the bittern
clip below were taken with
this camera, an Olympus C-700. Most of the recent stills have been taken
with this camera, also. Remember, I've degraded the image resolution so
that they'll load
faster on a wider range of internet connections. Also,
I'm using a freeware version of realproducer to make the flv video clips,
so the video isn't at the very best quality.
-------
----''GATOR
TRUCKIN' ---------------------THE
"YAWN"-M--------------BELLOWING
POSITION
April
21, 2002
Saturday, April 20, we had an Earth Day event at the park, with lots of
booths, and special demonstrations. Among them was an afternoon "alligator
hike" which I led. Of course,
that afternoon the alligators
decided, for the most part, to be somewhere else besides where I was supposed
to take the hike. My apologies to those who took the hike, for the
relative lack of
alligators.
Today
(April 21st), however, the alligators were busy all day. Among them
was this small (about 4-foot long) alligator shown in this week's rickubiscam.
A few of us were standing on the small
bridge near the observation tower,
when this alligator started moving towards us. (movie
clip one flv video 865kb) I'd heard that a few other alligators had
passed under this bridge, and I figured
that this small one would, also.
The Pilant Slough was being drained (AGAIN!) and so the alligators were
moving away from there. Anyway, this alligator moved up towards us, and
then stopped
about 20 feet away, and looked at us. (HUMANS UP THERE?,
and HMMM. YEP., below.)
----
HUMANS
UP THERE?- ---
HMMM. YEP.---- -
LET ME THINK - - I'LL
GO THIS WAYH
It paused
for a few minutes, then turned around and moved back towards the water,
but it stopped before it got there, and rested as only an alligator can.
It sure seemed a bit petulant to me.
(movie
clip two, flv video 933 kb, LET ME THINK, above.)
However,
after just a few more minutes, it got up and started walking towards the
right, and towards the path. It walked up the bank
and into the vegetation.
(movie clip 3,
flv video 393 kb, I'LL GO THIS WAY, above) I just knew that it still
wanted to cross over to 40 Acre Lake. So, I followed it, by walking along
the path.
The alligator walked for about 40 feet or so parallel to the
path.
After
this bit of walking, it turned towards the path. It walked up, and when
its head was clear of the grass, it paused for a minute
or so, looking
along the path. Then, it just crossed the path. (movie
clip 4, flv video 446 kb, SMUG ALLIGATOR, above).
This
seems to me like the alligator knew enough about its surroundings to choose
a path that allowed it to avoid us, but also allowed it to get to its destination.
This didn't appear to be aimless
wandering to me. It was aware of
our presence, and attempted to avoid us.
Why
did I follow this one? I always like to see them walk. I was reasonably
sure this one wanted to get to the lake.
As an
aside, clip number 4 was taken with the Olympus C-700 I've mentioned
before, while the other 3 were taken with a SVHS video camera, and then
digitized and reformatted later. I did this because I'd intended to post
the path crossing right away, and I didn't want
to have to go through the
extra step of digitizing the footage.
If you'd like to know more about the park follow these links:
Brazos Bend State Park The main page.
Brazos
Bend State Park Volunteer's Page The
volunteer's main page.
Here are a few links to more information on alligators. There's a LOT of it out there.
Fish and Wildlife Endangered Species
And, this page shows alligators at the park, on land, near various landmarks at the park.Go back to my main alligator page, Alligators
Go back to my home page, Welcome
to rickubis.com
Go
back to the RICKUBISCAM
page.
Go
back to the See
the World page.