Tim Stromsnes, president of the Reedy Creek firefighters’ union, added that he has “never seen anybody or heard of anybody feeding” the gator that lives near the station.
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However, it has emerged that firefighters were feeding at least two of the monsters in a fire station kilometres from the lagoon where little Lane drowned.
An animal described as being as long as 7 feet snatched the little boy as he waded in shallow water around nightfall on June 14.
It is unsafe to feed alligators because it can cause them to overcome their natural wariness and teaches them to associate people with food, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. “The communicators have found (one alligator) by the station, near the dumpster, and where they park their cars”. As you can imagine this is making the communicators nervous because they are fearful of walking to their auto and their leg becoming dinner.
It isn’t clear if the animal was ever removed, but the administrator says it’s unlikely it was involved in the attack on Lane. “In the interim could you ask your crews to stop feeding the gator”.
Feeding alligators is illegal.
“He has already spoken to members of his crew and has passed this on to the other shifts”, Rogers wrote. Gators that cause problems and are less than 4 feet long are typically relocated, while larger ones are trapped and killed by state officials.
The fact that it was firefighters feeding the gators has led to some questioning what led them to believe doing so was ok, because, according to David Hitzig, executive director of the Busch Wildlife Center, “You would think that the firefighters would be a little bit more in tune with the trouble that could cause and not do it…” It’s unlikely that the gator from the pond traveled to the lagoon since there are several roads separating the two, officials said. Fire Station 3 sits just outside the Magic Kingdom, to the west of Splash Mountain. “WE are the ones who have to walk in that parking lot every day and in the dark”, said Lewis in an email, per the Sentinel. Many alligators were unable to be tracked either because they did not move far enough or their acoustic tags broke.
It is definitely illegal to feed gators, but in a way, this story paints a picture of a place where gators are so common that you’re chill with leaving treats out for them like they’re feral cats.
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Two months after Dan Lewis warned of people becoming alligator food, Lane Graves was dragged to his death by a nearby gator.
