Free Republic

On a day typical in its heat and humidity, with the end of summer vacation fast approaching, a swim in a neighborhood pond seemed a fine idea to 11-year-old Devin Funck and two of his friends.Big Joe had other ideas.At 10 feet, 8 inches long and weighing an estimated 500 pounds, the alligator was a familiar sight in the ponds abutting Kingspoint and Fox Hollow subdivisions near Slidell, familiar enough that locals long ago gave the reptile its ominous nickname.As Devin and his companions splashed and frolicked in Crystal Lake on Wednesday afternoon, they spotted the imposing creature swimming toward...

Dwight Monreal narrowly escaped the jaws of an alligator eager to take him down Saturday. "It was the most frightening thing I've ever seen," said Matt Johnson, a golf cart attendant ... Monreal, 62, of Port. St. Lucie is a professional golf ball diver who's been in the business for years... Johnson, who has worked at the club for two years, said everything looked fine around 4:30 p.m when Monreal waded into the lake in his scuba gear. But in a matter of seconds the 10- to 12-foot gator seized his arm and took him into a spin preparing to...

OLDSMAR, Fla. -- A 69-year-old woman found an 8-foot-long alligator roaming in her home's kitchen Monday night, police said. Sandra Frosti said the alligator must have pushed through the back porch screen door and gone inside through an open sliding glass door. It then walked through the living room, down a hall and into the kitchen. A trapper with Animal Capture of Florida removed the alligator, which had been cut when a plate was knocked to the ground. No one inside the house was injured. One-Handed Man Wrestles Gator Earlier this month, a one-handed trapper in Florida roped and wrestled...

BRAZORIA, TX (KTRK) -- A state trooper found a six foot alligator found in the back seat of a burglary suspect's car early Saturday morning. The trooper told Eyewitness News that William Johnson found the gator in the road near Angleton and loaded it up into his Buick Regal, then broke into a house in Brazoria. DPS Trooper Steve Stanfield explained, "From my understanding, he tried to get a big screen TV out of the house. He couldn't get it in the car by himself, so he recruited a neighbor, who, when he saw the alligator, dropped the TV and...

SANFORD, Fla. -- A seaplane attempting to take off in an alligator-infested lake crashed when it clipped an alligator floating on top of the water, the pilot said. Officials said the seaplane was one of two trying to take off from Lake Jesup in Seminole County on Thursday when it crashed. The pilot, identified by officials as William Furr, suffered head injuries and a broken ankle and had to be rescued from the sinking plane by a boater. After being pulled from the wreckage, Furr told emergency crews that his aircraft clipped an alligator. "The pilot did say he thought...

MICCOSUKEE TRIBE INDIAN RESERVATION, Fla. (AP) -- A man who jumped into a lake to flee police was killed by an alligator more than 9-feet long, officials said Tuesday. The man, whose name has not been released, was allegedly burglarizing a vehicle in the parking lot of the Miccosukee Resort and Convention Center on Thursday. He ran when police arrived at the scene, said Dexter Lehtinen, one of the tribe's police legal advisors. Tribal police divers searched for the man that night, then again Friday morning and afternoon. During the third dive, the body was recovered. It bore alligator teeth...

Alligator hunters could see restrictions on their nighttime activities in the years ahead, with county officials facing continued noise complaints from lakefront homeowners. And that could mean more gators. THE BACKGROUND: The Osceola County Commission in March banned airboats -- the vessel of choice for alligator hunters -- from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Lake Tohopekaliga and East Lake Toho, but lifted the curfew for licensed trappers during alligator-hunting season. During the season, which began Aug.15 and ends Thursday, the state allows hunting only between dusk and dawn. THE CRITICS: The hunting season caused a fresh round of noise...

MONCKS CORNER — A 12-foot alligator bit off and swallowed a man’s arm this afternoon in Lake Moultrie. Department of Natural Resource officers then shot the 600-pound gator and retrieved the Summerville man’s arm from its belly, DNR officers and witnesses said. Doctors at the Medical University are trying to reattach the man’s arm. Witnesses say Bill Hedden, 59, was snorkeling in the lake at the Short Stay Navy Outdoor Recreation Area when the gator attacked around 3:45 p.m. DNR officers were called and shot the gator, then cut open its belly where they found the arm. A group of...

Gwendolyn Wunneburger never thought she would shoot an animal older than herself in this stage of her life. On Wednesday, Wunneburger, 77, shot a 12-foot, 4-inch, 750-pound male alligator estimated to be around 80 years old. Just two hours earlier, she had shot another male alligator measuring 10 feet, 4 inches and weighing 650 pounds. The 4-foot-5, 110-pound Wunneburger, who lives in Lakeway, has hunted wild game all over the world. She has stalked leopards in Africa and grizzly bear in Montana, but said Wednesday's hunt was one of her most exhilarating. "Not many people go after big alligators because...

Every good hunter dreams of that one big kill, the one unforgettable story that he can tell over and over again and can be passed on for generations to come. Palestine native David James got his catch, and his story, over Memorial Day weekend when he, with the help of his dad Dr. Barry James and brothers Jeff and Scott James killed and hauled in the biggest alligator they had ever seen. “We like to go hunting at the Koon Kreek Club (located about 8 miles south of Athens off Texas 19) and have been watching the gator for more...

Gator Visits Suburb Residents of the Morningside neighborhood in Meadow Pointe found an unexpected visitor Thursday evening. A 6- to 7-foot alligator wandered into the area and tried to climb the wall of a house. By FRED BELLET / TribuneBy GEOFF FOX The Tampa TribunePublished: May 25, 2007WESLEY CHAPEL - A 6- to 7-foot alligator drew a small crowd of incredulous onlookers Thursday evening in the Morningside neighborhood in Meadow Pointe.As the reptile attempted to climb the stucco wall of a house, near several electrical boxes, a woman across the street said, "Oh my God."Pasco County sheriff's Deputy Todd Koenig...

REGION UPDATE Captured L.A. Gator Thought To Be Reggie May 25, 2007 LOS ANGELES – A 6½-foot alligator believed to be the elusive Reggie that lurked in a park lake for two years was captured yesterday in a wrestling match with a reptile expert and rangers, and was rushed to a zoo with TV news helicopters trailing its journey across the nation's second-largest city. The wily non-native reptile became a celebrity as it left a series of would-be gator wranglers empty-handed and then managed to disappear for 18 months until it was spotted again late last month. Yesterday, the alligator...

LAKELAND -- Deputy Billy Osborne heard the man's cries for help but couldn't see him through the thick brush and pre-dawn darkness. " 'I have two broken arms, and an alligator's got me pinned. I can't move. Please help me,' " the Polk County deputy sheriff recalled the man saying at a news conference Wednesday. As Osborne listened, he followed the pleading voice through more than 20 yards of weeds in Lake Parker's murky, chest-deep water about 4 a.m. Then he saw them: a naked man slumped over, caught in the jaws of a huge alligator amid thick cattails in...

<p>FIVE people were needed to haul a 300kg crocodile from a Northern Territory river popular with locals for water sports.</p> <p>The 3.7m male saltwater crocodile was dragged from Howard River at Howard Springs, about 40km south of Darwin, early today.</p>

The Marion County Sheriff's Office asked the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to catch at least one large alligator in an area where crews are searching for a missing boy, according to a news release. Authorities continued their fourth day of searching near Farles Lake in the Ocala National Forest for 2-year-old Trenton Duckett. Trenton was reported missing 22 days ago by his mother, Melinda Duckett, who committed suicide more than a week ago. On Monday afternoon, a trapper will attempt to catch an 8-foot alligator spotted near Farles Lake. If alligators are captured, their stomachs will be examined...

Teen Uses Discovery Channel Tip To Escape Alligator Attack Mom: Tip To Poke Eye With Thumb Saved Son's Life   POSTED: 9:29 pm EDT July 23, 2006 UPDATED: 9:58 pm EDT July 23, 2006   DELAND, Fla. -- A 16-year-old being dragged into a Central Florida lake by a large alligator used a tip he watched on the Discovery Channel to break free and likely save his life, according to a Local 6 News report.Corey Workman was in a remote area of the St. John's River in Volusia County, Fla., just before midnight Saturday, throwing rocks and sticks into...

“I didn't even think- that's what scares me the most is that I just reacted." Brent Carey is still reliving the horror of Sunday afternoon. What started as a relaxing day at the park with his girlfriend Jessica Turner and her dog Chance, ended in a battle against a ten foot gator. “I can't close my eyes without seeing that gator over Chance's head- it's awful,” Turner says. She says the full-grown gator grabbed Chance while he was in the water swimming and started dragging him away. “I could almost grab him and I thought I'm going to die right...

A man delivering newspapers at 5 a.m. Monday heard an unusual sound as he got out of his truck to retrieve a misthrown newspaper. He walked between two parked cars and saw a 4-foot alligator. "He kind of lunged at me and hissed," said Bobby Kish, 46. "His mouth was open; I was about five feet away. It was enough to get my attention." Kish jumped back in his car, drove to the Pottstown Borough police station and told the dispatcher, who sent officers to the scene. Cpl. Jamie O'Neill grabbed the alligator from behind and secured its jaws with...

Caldwell, Idaho - It's not something you'd normally see in Idaho, but on Wednesday an alligator was spotted walking down a street in Caldwell. It's now in the hands of Fish and Game officials who are trying to find the reptile a new home. This Caldwell neighborhood looks just like any other. So you probably wouldn't guess that around 5 a.m. Wednesday, an alligator was spotted walking down Freeport Street. A man saw the three foot reptile and brought it to the Caldwell Police Department. "I couldn't believe it at first. The last thing I thought I'd ever see is...

Guess who's coming to dinner? Couple shun scaly visitor BY BEN CRITES, The Island Packet Published Wednesday, June 7, 2006 SUN CITY HILTON HEAD -- Use the peephole. You never know who -- or what -- will knock on your front door. Photo: A 6-foot-long alligator climbs within inches of the doorbell after knocking into the front door of Roslyn and Robert Loretta's home on Penny Creek Drive in Sun City Hilton Head on Friday night. The reptile apparently was enticed into the couple's yard by the smell of teriyaki chicken. Richard Holinski/Special to the Packet For the Lorettas, it...

Meanwhile, a giant 700-pound, 12-foot-long alligator was captured and pulled from a South Florida canal after residents called for help. A crane and several men were needed to lift the alligator out of the canal located near Northwest 41st Street in Doral, Fla. Homeowners in the area complained about the alligator, saying it had become a nuisance. A trapper said the alligator was definitely not one residents would want in the area, according to the report. "This is the biggest alligator ever caught in Miami-Dade County," Local 6's Jacquie Sosa said.

State wildlife officials field a flood of calls about alligators in the wake of recent fatal gator attacks... As news of fatal alligator attacks spread throughout Florida and the nation, operators at the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program in Okeechobee are swamped. Operators have stayed late this week to handle the flood of phone calls. They logged 225 calls on Monday, more than double the number of calls they answered a year ago. ''It was nonstop,'' said biologist Lindsey Hord, the program's coordinator. ``As soon as they hung up with one person, they answered another call.'' The call volume increased last...

Gettin' ready!!!!

The Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center recently received and interesting visitor on an unannounced tour. I used to do work out there, and there were always hogs, deer, manatees, rattlesnakes, eagles, schools of redfish and gators all over the place. There was a lake just a few blocks southeast of the HQ building where I counted over 40 gators one summer. Just thought including the notes that accompanied the picture (below) would be interesting. They're in reverse chronological order. "for those who used to work here, see what you are missing?" "for those who still work here, see...

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla -- An 82-year-old Lee County man said he tried to get an alligator out of his garage with a broom. John Turney says he also used the blue straw broom to kept the 4-foot reptile from biting him. The gator later went under Turney's car that was parked in the driveway and Turney sprayed it with a garden hose. The alligator finally didn't leave until three other people prodded it, forcing the reptile to go back to a lake. It had apparently spent the night in Turney's garage in North Fort Myers. Just a few days...

Here is the day we have all been waiting for. The "New Year's Day" bowl games are on the day after, but there are some great matchups today. Look at at least 2 upsets....

The alligator has some foreign competition at the top of the Everglades food chain, and the results of the struggle are horror- movie messy. A 13-foot Burmese python recently burst after it apparently tried to swallow a live, six-foot alligator whole, authorities said. The incident has heightened biologists' fears that the nonnative snakes could threaten a host of other animal species in the Everglades. "It means nothing in the Everglades is safe from pythons, a top-down predator," said Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife professor. Over the years, many pythons have been abandoned in the Everglades by pet owners....

A python's eyes were apparently bigger than its stomach. Scientists in Florida are puzzling over a Burmese python that scarfed down a six-foot alligator before its stomach ruptured. They found the carcasses in an isolated part of Florida's Everglades National Park. Photos show the gator's hind legs and tail sticking out of the 13-foot snake's ruptured gut. The Miami Herald reported that scientists can't figure out how the snake got the critter down. The snake's head is also missing. Experts say the clash is interesting, but it also shows the exotic snakes are competing with gators to top the food...

PINOPOLIS, S.C. (AP) -- Dogs don't usually survive alligator attacks - especially when the reptile is three times the canine's size. But Cooper, a 5-year-old golden retriever, is an exception. The spirited dog fought off a 14-foot, 700-pound alligator in a Lake Moultrie canal last month and lived to howl about it. "I thought he was dead," said 14-year-old Chase Kierspe of the family pet. "The alligator was huge. I didn't think he could fight it. He fights me, but that's all." Cooper escaped from the backyard for a swim across the canal and apparently attracted the gator. Chase was...

PORT CHARLOTTE -- A lawn worker who jumped into a canal near the Myakka River to cool off was attacked and killed by a 12-foot, 1,200-pound alligator Friday night. Witnesses said Kevin Albert Murray, 41, of North Port, routinely took a swim after doing yard work for the residents whose homes are along the Apollo Waterway, in a sparsely populated area near the Sarasota County line. According to Dee Hawkins, a spokeswoman for Charlotte County Fire & EMS, neighbors had seen the alligator in the canal many times but did not think it was dangerous. Richard and Laura Bernhard were...

<p>PINOPOLIS, S.C. — Dogs don't usually survive alligator attacks — especially when the reptile is three times the canine's size. But Cooper, a 5-year-old golden retriever, is an exception. The spirited dog fought off a 14-foot, 700-pound alligator in a Lake Moultrie (search) canal last month and lived to howl about it.</p>

Alligator Kills Florida Swimmer Saturday, July 16, 2005 PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — A man swimming in a canal Friday evening was killed by an alligator, state officials said. It was the 17th recorded fatal alligator attack in Florida (search). Kevin Albert Murray, 41, of Northport, was swimming in the Apollo Waterway when a 12-foot, 2-inch alligator attacked and killed him, said Gary Morse, spokesman for the southwest Florida office of the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (search). The alligator was retrieved and killed by a trapper and state wildlife officer, Morse said. Several people reportedly witnessed the attack in...

The next time you run a scan with your anti-spyware tool, it might miss some programs. Several anti-spyware firms, including Aluria, Lavasoft, and PestPatrol, have quietly stopped detecting adware from companies like Claria and WhenU--a process called delisting. Those adware companies have been petitioning anti-spyware firms to delist their software; other companies have resorted to sending cease-and-desist letters that threaten legal action. In most cases it's difficult for customers to determine whether their anti-spyware tool has delisted anything and, if so, which adware it skips. "When a spyware program gets delisted, users won't be aware of its presence," says Harvard...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced the appointment of twenty members to the Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee (DHS Privacy Advisory Committee). This newest federal advisory committee to DHS was established to provide external expert advice to the Secretary and the Chief Privacy Officer on programmatic, policy, operational, and technological issues that affect privacy, data integrity, and data interoperability in DHS programs. “This Committee will provide the Department with important recommendations on how to further the Department’s mission while protecting the privacy of personally identifiable information of citizens and visitors of the United States,” said Nuala O’Connor...

MIAMI -- A 12-foot alligator weighing more than 400 pounds and described as among the largest ever caught near downtown Miami was hoisted from a creek Monday by a firetruck. The alligator was discovered in Wagner Creek, about 16 miles from the Everglades, in the shadows of two major hospital complexes and around the corner from the Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, a court house, a county jail and government office buildings. It was "about the last place you'd expect to see an alligator of any size," said licensed trapper Todd Hardwick. Alligators are much more common in suburban canals and...

12-Foot, 400-Pound Gator Captured in Miami 2 hours, 51 minutes ago Strange News - AP MIAMI - A 12-foot alligator weighing more than 400 pounds and described as among the largest ever caught near downtown Miami was hoisted from a creek Monday by a firetruck. The alligator was discovered in Wagner Creek, about 16 miles from the Everglades, in the shadows of two major hospital complexes and around the corner from the Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, a court house, a county jail and government office buildings. It was "about the last place you'd expect to see an alligator of any...

Man accused of hitting woman with gator The Associated Press 7/17/2004, 12:49 p.m. CT PORT ORANGE, Fla. (AP) -- A man hit his girlfriend with a 3-foot alligator and threw beer bottles at her during an argument in the couple's mobile home, authorities said. http://www.al.com/newsflash/national/index.ssf?/base/national-27/1090086853125890.xml

It's a fairly common sight: a car zipping down the highway, the family pet leaning out the window and catching the breeze. Except in this case, the pet, Petey, is an alligator, and the vision of his green snout pointing from a black BMW yesterday was anything but ordinary. An off-duty Philadelphia police officer spied Petey - his 3 1/2-foot body stretched across his owner's lap and his nose out the passenger-side window - traveling south on Roosevelt Boulevard about 11 a.m. Unable to get the car to stop, the officer called 911. Petey and his human companions were pulled...

ELTONA, Fla. -- A 12-year-old boy fought off a 7-foot alligator that clamped down on his head and dragged him underwater. Malcolm Locke was swimming in Lake Diana Wednesday when he noticed an alligator swimming toward him.The boy tried to swim back to shore but the alligator attacked his head and pulled him underwater, said Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.Locke said the alligator clamped down and wrapped its tail around the boy's stomach before pulling him down."I thought I was going to get swallowed up," Locke told WKMG-TV in Orlando.Locke fought the alligator...

My brother works construction projects all over the world, and just sent me a couple of pictures of critters encountered on the job. And I thought my job sucked.

ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A 65-year-old woman is recovering from an encounter with an alligator that bit her as she was sitting in the back of a pickup truck. Patricia Compton said Wednesday that she had been sitting on an ice chest in the back of the pickup with her feet outstretched to avoid getting wet as the truck slowly moved through a deep puddle in the remote trail in the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area. Compton and seven family members had just driven through the 3-foot-deep water puddle Saturday when the nearly 10-foot alligator lunged up and clamped...

MILWAUKEE -- A four-foot alligator chewed its way out of a shipping carton before a postal worker tossed it into a hamper and called animal control officers.

In an effort to improve its corporate reputation, adware company Gator has launched a legal offensive to divorce its name from the hated term "spyware"--and so far its strategy is paying off. In response to a libel lawsuit, an antispyware company has settled with Gator and pulled Web pages critical of the company, its practices and its software. And other spyware foes are getting the message. "There is this feeling out there that they won the lawsuit, and people are starting to get scared," said one employee of a spyware-removal company, who asked not to be named. "We haven't been...

TAVARES -- A Lake County man jumped out of his truck Saturday and lassoed a 5-foot-long alligator he said was threatening a woman and four children near Tavares Elementary School. A state game official issued Michael McCormick a $180 citation for possession of a gator, but he makes no apology. The Astatula man said he was thinking about last week's fatal gator attack on 12-year-old Bryan Griffin in the nearby Dead River when he decided to rope the reptile.

Boy Dragged Into Water By Gator LAKE COUNTY, Fla. -- A 12-year-old boy died Wednesday night after a large alligator dragged him into the Dead River Canal in Tavares, Fla., according to Local 6 News. Witnesses said that Brian Griffin was with friends at a boat ramp near the Palm Gardens Mobile Home Resort when the alligator grabbed Griffin's torso and pulled him into deeper water. "The gator had surfaced out of the water completely and attacked the boy, the 12-year-old boy, that was there," Lake County sheriff's spokesman Mark Stauffer said. "It (alligator) took the boy in his mouth."...

A Gatorland theme park and wildlife preserve employee was bitten in the head by an alligator during a show for tourists Wednesday afternoon, according to Local 6 News. A Gatorland official said that Nathan Sweeting, 27, was bitten in the park's 800-seat arena during an alligator wrestling show. Local 6 News reported that Sweeting was handling one of the alligators when another animal came up and bit him on the forehead Witnesses said that Sweeting was "bleeding all over the place," according to Local 6 News. "You see him grab at his face with his hands with blood dripping, literally...

Yet another company is seeking to defang Gator, the online advertising start-up whose pop-ups let businesses pitch potential customers visiting rival Web sites. Shipping company UPS filed a lawsuit last week against Gator in the U.S. District Court of Atlanta, charging the online software provider with delivering unauthorized ads to visitors to its Web site. Gator's software, which PC users install to manage passwords, might display a Federal Express ad to people viewing UPS.com, for example. "The problem lies in that this software causes third-party ads to pop up on our Web site, so if you visit UPS.com, an ad...

<p>While out playing Sunday morning in Ponte Vedra Beach, a family pet came close to becoming alligator bait after a large reptile left four puncture wounds and two large scratches down the dog's back.</p> <p>"It looked like she was swimming toward another dog," said owner Trina Medarev. "At the time I thought 'How cute, she's met a friend.'"</p>

NEW YORK (AP) - Complaining of parasitical behavior, some of the nation's largest news publishers are suing Internet advertising company Gator Corp. over software that triggers pop-up ads when surfers visit their Web sites. ``We make all the investment to gather and collect news and set up an attractive Web site,'' Terence Ross, an attorney for the publishers, said Friday. ``Gator, without making any equivalent investment, reaps the profits.'' The lawsuit was filed this week in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., by a group that includes parent companies of The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal...

Dog that fought alligator to save owner named hero of year A dog that fought an alligator to save its 85-year-old owner has been given the US Dog Hero of the Year award. Blue, an Australian blue heeler from LaBelle, Florida suffered puncture wounds as it saved owner Ruth Gay. She fell on a canal bank near her home while they were out for a night-time walk. Her cries for help attracted the alligator. The dog fought it off and then led her daughter and son-in-law to where she was lying when they arrived home an hour after her fall....