A six to seven foot alligator lunged out of Palmetto Lake on the side opposite the Lake House as I was sitting on the bench closest to the water with my Lab. He just missed my dog who by the way weighs more than 90 pounds. I’ve hunted and fished my whole life so believe me when I say that I’m not exaggerating. The alligator’s mouth was 18 inches from me when I fell off the back of the bench. No one should go close to the water at Palmetto Lake until this gator is removed!
-Submitted by Al Ivester
The key is to be aware and not to feed the wildlife. However, not taking your dog for a walk around the lake, not fishing, not biking, and not simply completing your own recreational walking is not the answer. Get rid of the large, overly aggressive creature is the answer. That is exactly what the POA did. They responded quickly and efficiently. Great job. Thanks Pat and Bill Huff
This isn’t the first time this has happened at Palmetto Lake. I’m beginning to think that we should not encourage fishing or have benches lakeside. My friend’s son was fishing with his two little boys at PL when an alligator flew out of the water when he reeled in a fish. And about a year ago I was walking on the lake path when I saw the carcass of a large doe at water’s edge. A gator has to be awfully fast to catch a deer like that.
Most of us Seabrookers know to be careful, especially at this time of year (mating season) but I imagine many visitors to the island are fairly clueless. Removing aggressive alligators is a good thing, but we sometimes don’t know they’re aggressive until something like this happens. I think we should be more proactive. Al Ivestor and his pup were very lucky,
The aggressive alligator was removed from Palmetto Lake on Monday afternoon. SIPOA will continue to monitor for aggressive alligators.
As it is mating and nesting season for gators, best to avoid getting close to the water. We walk our dogs there regularly but keep a close eye out for gators.
There is a good-sized gator in the pond at Sealoft Villas that comes swimming over to wait by ths shore when he hears people talking on the balcony. It appears someone may have been feeding him to cause that kind of behavior? :O
I’ve avoided walking around the lake since seeing the same gator and another large one sleeping in the grass there. Too close for comfort.
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I agree with Al- I was walking on the path last week w/ my large dog and an alligator started swimming rapidly towards the shore- We left the area very quickly!