Alligator dragged 2 year old into 7 seas lagoon

[luvsJack]

This is horrible.

Maybe their signs should say Warning: Alligators along with the no swimming. Other areas have signs that say no swimming, no wading, etc.

I know all about alligators. Used to go to a river and fish that has plenty of alligators. I wouldn't necessarily have associated Seven Seas Lagoon with alligators.

 

[nd5056]

Prayers for the family...

And for me, "No Swimming" does not translate to "No Wading". However, if they posted a sign "Danger - Gators!", who would have stayed in that resort?

 

[Toad_Passenger]

This is horrible.

Maybe their signs should say Warning: Alligators along with the no swimming. Other areas have signs that say no swimming, no wading, etc.

I know all about alligators. Used to go to a river and fish that has plenty of alligators. I wouldn't necessarily have associated Seven Seas Lagoon with alligators.

They may have to change the signs, but maybe just a generic "dangerous wildlife" because there are far too many dangerous things in those waters to list individually on a sign.

 

[cabanafrau]

The thought of this sickens and horrifies me to the core. Reading some of the comments in this thread about shaking a head at the circumstances is appalling.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Have any witnesses come forward?

 

[bgirldeb]

Have any witnesses come forward?

I found this article pretty thorough.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/us/alligator-attacks-child-disney-florida/

So sad for this family.

 

[OhMari]

Have any witnesses come forward?

There is a longer statement this morning. 4 alligators have been caught, which really surprises me, but maybe it shouldn't it. They have been euthanized, but determined they are not the ones.

It is so sad, beyond comprehension. Many of us, have stood at any number of the beaches on Bay Lake. 7 years ago, I did a Tri-Athlon, down by Fort Wilderness and we swam in Bay Lake.

 

[pocomom]

To everyone judging this dad for letting the baby play in the water- it would make NO DIFFERENCE- Aligators hunt on land ALL the time. They would have had to been nearly 200 FEET out of the water to not be accessible to this gator.

 

[Colleen27]

I saw it on my Facebook feed from a news outlet I'm not familiar with, and I honestly didn't believe it was a real story at first. What a sad, scary thing!

That said, I do wonder at all the people who look at a "no swimming" sign and think that's not the same as "stay out of the water". I don't live in gator country. I live in a state that is essentially without venomous snakes or other wildlife that could pose a hazard to swimmers. But when I see a place marked "no swimming" I read that as "not safe to go in the water". Underwater hazards, strong currents, bacterial levels... there are lots of reasons a beach might not be suitable for playing in the water and not all of them take being in deep water or completely submerged to effect a person.

 

[Jets fan]

When I first heard about this I could not believe it, I mean 'The Happiest Place on Earth'. I know that the lake has alligators as my nephew went waterskiing about 10 years ago on the lake and the boat driver told us that they lived in the water but left people alone.

My thoughts and prayers are with the family at this terrible time. It is not their fault and is just a terrible, terrible, tragic accident.

Tina

 

[Christine]

To everyone judging this dad for letting the baby play in the water- it would make NO DIFFERENCE- Aligators hunt on land ALL the time. The would have had to been nearly 200 FEET out of the water to not be accessible to this gator.

Not judging here, but just a question on alligator behavior. I just read the cnn link posted above by bgirldeb which is a pretty good account of what happened. The authorities quoted in the article stated that the toddler was the only person down in the water with feet in the water playing and that if it had been an adult, the gator *probably* would not have attacked but somehow a child is more likely to be attacked.

So are gators really "discriminatory" when sizing up prey or do they just go after a moving body.

pocomom--your statement seems to indicate that the gator would have just ran up on the beach but the articles seems to indicate that it would have been more reserved than that and, I assume, was just hanging out at the surface of the water.

 

[pocomom]

I saw it on my Facebook feed from a news outlet I'm not familiar with, and I honestly didn't believe it was a real story at first. What a sad, scary thing!

That said, I do wonder at all the people who look at a "no swimming" sign and think that's not the same as "stay out of the water". I don't live in gator country. I live in a state that is essentially without venomous snakes or other wildlife that could pose a hazard to swimmers. But when I see a place marked "no swimming" I read that as "not safe to go in the water". Underwater hazards, strong currents, bacterial levels... there are lots of reasons a beach might not be suitable for playing in the water and not all of them take being in deep water or completely submerged to effect a person.

I grew up at the shore. "No swimming" meant no lifeguard was on duty. Not the water was dangerous. I believe the signs at Disney say something more specific but none of it matters... being out of the water but still near it would not have protected this baby.

 

[Hikergirl]

Are they still searching? I assume that it is very important to find this gator, not just for the sake of the parents.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

From the CNN article:

"Witnesses said the family was on the beach, and the boy's sister was in a playpen about 20 to 30 yards from the water, according to Demings. The toddler was nearby, wading in the water."

So the 4 year old was in a pack n play and the two year old was wading alone? Reports say the father rushed into the water after the attack.

This is a horrifying, but preventable, tragedy.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

I have never been on the beach at the 7 Seas Lagoon. Is it common for people to wade in the lake? We stayed at CBR a few years ago and walked down to their lake a few times. We sat on the chairs, and I wouldn't let the boys get near the water. This was because of the amoeba fear more so than an alligator attack. I also did not see anyone else getting in the water.

 

[pocomom]

Not judging here, but just a question on alligator behavior. I just read the cnn link posted above by bgirldeb which is a pretty good account of what happened. The authorities quoted in the article stated that the toddler was the only person down in the water with feet in the water playing and that if it had been an adult, the gator *probably* would not have attacked but somehow a child is more likely to be attacked.

So are gators really "discriminatory" when sizing up prey or do they just go after a moving body.

pocomom--your statement seems to indicate that the gator would have just ran up on the beach but the articles seems to indicate that it would have been more reserved than that and, I assume, was just hanging out at the surface of the water.

The gator was surely attracted to the baby's size. They love easy prey. Plus a toddler near the shoreline might not look that different from a raccoon or other mammal looking for fish.
It probably is unlikely he would have made a mad dash up the beach , but a few feet away from the water absolutely - that's in their "regular" hunting area.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

I grew up at the shore. "No swimming" meant no lifeguard was on duty. Not the water was dangerous. I believe the signs at Disney say something more specific but none of it matters... being out of the water but still near it would not have protected this baby.

There are a lot of other factors here, though. Yes, gators can attack on land (and very quickly!), but we don't know if this gator was actively searching for prey, or if the child, upon entering the water, ticked off the gator enough at that point for it to react violently (a territory thing).

 

[Kona65]

More information. Sightings weeks earlier.


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/alligator-drags-toddler-water-near-8197003

 

[diesel]

Are gators more active at night? I've seen them during the day sunning themselves but wasn't sure if they are more active at night.

 

[DonaldnDaisy5]

Born and raised well outside of FL. This is a terrible tragedy....but outside of people believing Disney removes all gators (impossible), I can't believe "northerners" don't know there could be gators in water. I can't tell you how many hours I spent driving down 75 looking for alligators....its one thing FL is known for....