Hunting Alligators In a car where it's safe! (a photo-essay)

One of the things I like about Florida is the variety of wildlife.

Armadillos to bald eagles, gators to dolphins, there are always

things to see and search for.  When we have a free

afternoon, we often pack some water, our binoculars,  the

digital camera and drive to the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. 

It is a wonderful place.  If you go early on a sunny day when

it is still cool out, the gators will be out sunning themselves. 

You can spot some of them looking for their next meal.

We have seen small gators ranging from one to three feet. 

When they are that small they don't mind hanging out together. 

We saw a dozen of them on the same bank on one visit last year.

This one looks lonely. 

 Larger alligators like the one below are solitary animals and

very territorial.  This is one of the largest we have seen.  He

is at least 13 feet long.

We were lucky to spot another large one swimming by the road.

I love to watch them glide through the water.  Just the tail moves.

As the title states, we usually stay in the car.  Alligators can

lunge quickly at about 35 mph.  We have also seen them jump

after birds.  It is amazing how high they can go.  Although they

don't usually bother humans, someone walking by a mother with

babies might make her a little crabby!  The next two

photos were taken at the Brevard Co. Zoo and show gator

feeding day.  I wish they had come out better.  We had to

shoot into the sun.    In the first photo all you can see are

heads bobbing in the water.  The second photo shows the

power of the largest alligator there.

.....

Alligators cool off by opening their mouths.  Sometimes it isn't

pretty.

The last thing we saw when we left the refuge that day is

what will draw us back.   The tracks were still wet.  The

foot prints were huge and the belly of the beast made at least

a three-inch deep slice through the mud as he walked.  We must

have just missed him.