I guess every area of the country has its amazing creatures – the animal that out of town visitors would love to catch a glimpse of, but only from a safe distance. I’ve hiked in the Smoky Mountains and been lucky enough to come upon a large mother bear and her cubs at the top of Mt. LeConte. I was also lucky enough to know that I needed to stay back and give them plenty of room, so the mom would not feel that her cubs were being threatened. It was an utterly incredible sight; one that I’ll never forget.
For people who come to Florida, I think that our Alligators might provide that same sort of awe, if a visitor is lucky enough to see one (in a safe setting). I’ve lived here since I was four years old, and I’ve never, ever been in a situation where I’ve felt threatened by an alligator. But they are definitely around, if you know where to look.
Sawgrass Lake Park, off 62nd Avenue North and just west of Interstate 275, is one of those places. At least 50% of the times that I visit the park, I see a gator. Today, after lunch, I was in the area, and it had just finished raining, the sun was obscured by clouds, so it was cool and a little breezy, and I decided to stop and see if I might be able to get a photo for my post today. After walking for a little while, it started threatening to rain again, so I turned around to leave. As I approached the canal at the start of a boardwalk, I saw people pointing, and there was a six foot gator swimming rapidly away from them. That was interesting to see, because virtually all of the alligators that I’ve seen in the wild have been practically immobile, basking in the sun, watching and waiting to see what comes their way. But this one was moving along with purpose! Since I know that the boardwalk winds around and then turns at a nice little viewing spot right next to the canal, I turned and trotted back down the boardwalk, into the woods. I reached the covered viewing overlook and waited a few minutes and then, like clockwork, the gator came swimming towards me. I got some great shots! Alligators are amazing, prehistoric looking animals, and I think it’s very cool that we live in a place where you can walk through a park and see one of these creatures swimming around as if they own the world. In their minds, I guess they do!
Sawgrass Lake Park Gator, Close Up! (click pic for larger view)
Sawgrass Lake Gator
