Jurassic Park in my back yard

[Phenix]

What is a "past species"? They are still around, so that makes them a "present species".

Ye, got that right.

Phenix,

Maybe most animals where you come from are native, but not here. We have lots of harmful to the enviroment animals here not (not to mention plants), some came in by hitching rides in produce etc. Some were brought in to be pets, then their owners could not handle them as they got to large or escaped. We would like to see all of the non-native animals gone. The gators are were protected as their species being hunted almost to extinction. Now there are seasons to hunt them and it is controlled by a tag system. Don't you have protected species in Or.?

I am in the SW Missouri Ozarks. We do have a few protective species, but none of them are as repulsive or dangerous as alligators.

 

[LVSteve]

Sorry. I meant “pest species”.
I know about a lot of the critters found in FL nowadays that are not native to there. But as far as I know alligators have always been there. I don’t go to Florida, but from a distance it seems to me they need to be thinned out a lot.

You mess with the top predators in an environment at your peril. Settlers in the West wiped out the wolf and most of the mountain lions. The result is that we are now up to our armpits in coyotes, a creature almost as destructive to smaller critters as humans. The coyote has all but wiped out our ground nesting birds and some species of lizard in the southern half of Nevada.

 

[AJ]

Sorry. I meant “pest species”.
I know about a lot of the critters found in FL nowadays that are not native to there. But as far as I know alligators have always been there. I don’t go to Florida, but from a distance it seems to me they need to be thinned out a lot.

I am in the SW Missouri Ozarks. We do have a few protective species, but none of them are as repulsive or dangerous as alligators.

There are dangerous animals all over the US. I read about folks getting seriously hurt or killed everyday all over the country. Mostly it is from folks who are not to bright getting to close to the animal to touch, see it better or feed it. Do we weed out the stupid people along with the dangerous animals?

Alligators range from Texas all the way to Virginia. Those are their natural ranges. Have heard of them being found farther north a few times. What makes them repulsive? Their skins and sharp teeth? Not nice fur like a bear, wolf, mountain lion etc....? Those have big teeth and kill folks if they get the oppurtunity.

My family has lived in Florida for over 200 years so far. We have not had anyone die due to a gator. Yes, they use to hunt them. In fact a cousin still guides for hunters with a gator permit. They do it the old fashioned way with bow & arrow.

The biggest problems have come for all the folks from all over that want to move to Florida. Their new housing areas were marsh land and swamps a few years ago, now they have built a house on it. The wildlife is still there and the two don't mix well.

 

[tlawler]

What is a "past species"? They are still around, so that makes them a "present species".

Ye, got that right.

Phenix,

Maybe most animals where you come from are native, but not here. We have lots of harmful to the enviroment animals here not (not to mention plants), some came in by hitching rides in produce etc. Some were brought in to be pets, then their owners could not handle them as they got to large or escaped. We would like to see all of the non-native animals gone. The gators are were protected as their species being hunted almost to extinction. Now there are seasons to hunt them and it is controlled by a tag system. Don't you have protected species in Or.?

Don’t even get me started on Brazilian Pepper trees. They are a SCOURGE!

 

[Rule3]

Bait them out in the open with hibiscus flowers. Then take the shot!

He is on a Hibiscus plant and ate all the flowers and buds

 

[Rule3]

Of course they are native, most animals are. But why are they protected?

Because like most animals they were hunted to near extinction many years ago. Yes, there are a lot of them and if they become a nuisance (like living in your swimming pool) FWC will send a licensed trapper to remove it and put it in a remote area.

 

[Rule3]

Don’t even get me started on Brazilian Pepper trees. They are a SCOURGE!

Paper Trees (Melaleuca) are worse!

 

[Glynn863]

A long time friend of mine is from Guatemala. He said down there, as a teenager, that he hunted Iguanas with a .22 rifle. They were hunted for food and skin. About the only thing that he ate were the tails, cooked by roasting over a fire.

 

[AJ]

Don’t even get me started on Brazilian Pepper trees. They are a SCOURGE!

Paper Trees (Melaleuca) are worse!

It is a toss up as to which is worse. Growing up I just thought they were suppose to be here. There was a large Pepper Tree growing in my Grandparents side yard. Big enough that cars could park under it.

 

[Grayfox]

I feel your pain. When I was a kid, rabbit and quail hunting were big here in west Tennessee. About 25-30 years ago coyotes crossed the Mississippi River. Now the damned things are everywhere. I haven't seen a rabbit or quail in many years.