Just Thought I’d Drop In

Last week I saw this alligator relaxing on a mud bog in the swamp and I quickly noticed he had company. It was funny to see the gator completely ignore this turtle as it lumbered up along side the alligator and picked out a nice spot in the sun. This was not the largest alligator in the swamp but it was big enough and it gives you an idea of how huge this turtle was! Just a couple of friends enjoying a sunny day and basking in the sun!

Alligator and Turtle in Swamp

Alligator and Turtle in Swamp

Alligator and Turtle in Swamp

Alligator and Turtle in Swamp

 

52 thoughts on “Just Thought I’d Drop In”

  7. That gator must have been in a good mood to indugle that turtle. Usually it’s a bird or a butterfly or a dragongfly that take advantage of gators as resting spots, but nothing as big as that turtle. Ballsy ain’t he? Mind if I take a seat here, indeed.

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  13. How come they don’t eat until May?! (re previous replies above) Do they go into a semi-starvation quasi hibernation mode or something? Anyway, they are super pix. I love turtles. We used to see quite a few at our local river – some even found their way to our garden – not sure what’s happened to them all since.

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    • Alligators do not hibernate in a strict sense, rather they simply slow down their metabolism in colder months so feeding is not required and in any case digestion of a meal would not be possible. By about Oct., they drop down off a heavy eating schedule and will pick it back up in late April and May. They can still be active during winter in terms of swimming and walking around but such activity is kept to a minimum. They will more likely be found (or not found at all) dozing in the warm sun if it is a sunny day.
      The birds and other creatures evidently know when the alligators are not in hunting and feeding modes which is why we can sometimes see birds walking across a relaxing gator.
      This information applies to the alligators in my area of the U.S. Heading farther south from me where it is much warmer in winter you could quite possibly find alligators activily eating even in Jan. and Feb.

      Glad you liked these photos! 🙂

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      • Wow thanks for that. My partner spent some time in Aus in Northern Territory where crocs where prevalent and seemingly always active. Now I’ll have to look them up and see if they are the same as your Carolina gators.

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        • One big difference between the American Alligator and the African Crocodile is apparently the crocs are extremely dangerous to people as well as whatever their normal food source would be. Our alligators are not aggressive toward people and would prefer not to have any human interaction which is the way it should be. Where we get into trouble with “problem” gators is when humans start feeding or harrassing them. You never want an alligator to associate food with people. Unfortunately when you have people that think it’s fun to bring the grandkids over to toss food scraps out to the gator they have created a problem. They have their fun and then the next people that show up get lunged at by the alligator who has now been trained to think that these ‘things’ (people) are food sources. So they lose their minds and demand that “something” be done about the killer alligator. That something is to kill it. It would have been fine if left alone and merely observed but no, we can’t have that can we? 😕 😦
          Sorry for the rant.

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          • Indeed, my partner was very wary of any croc-infested waters.

            Interestingly the feeding issue for gators is exactly the same with the Gib monkeys. Feed monkeys, they harass people wanting junk food, and attack them or invade properties wanting more food. FFS it’s hardly difficult, don’t feed animals crap food for cuteness to see the animals coming close or taking piccies.

            But it really racks me off, so I’m ranting as much as you.

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  19. Absolutely love this Phil ! Oh Hello..what a nice log you are. 🙂
    BTW, I am amazed how you manage to keep up with all the comments that you receive, as well as to take the time to comment on other blogs, mine included. You must put hours into it.

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    • Thanks much for your very kind comments Emily! Funny how the face of the alligator never changes at all with that big turtle climbing around.
      I’m just very happy people take the time to visit here and comment and seem to enjoy the wildlife photos. 🙂

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  22. What a fascinating amount of information I have learnt about alligators from the above comments and your answers, Phil. Thank you! Why do people think that it is good to feed wild creatures, thereby changing their feeding habits? We are having so much trouble in the UK with foxes in towns, now. They have lost their fear of humans, due to being fed and are entering houses and other buildings, even attacking babies. Such a shame.

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    • Thank you Maggie for your kind words! I am happy you enjoy the photos and the little stories I provide.
      What you describe with the foxes is exactly what happens with alligators here, and even bears in other areas farther north. Cute and fun to feed and leave food out for Mr. Bear until he busts through your sliding glass door and destroys your kitchen and eats your pets.

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  25. Have a soft spot for turtles, great photos. We visited Queensland and the Daintree Forest, a tour guide was taking us around and we came across some signs saying beware of crocs, the tour guide said that if you came across one (unlikely though) and you were unfortunate enough to be chased, the best thing to do was to run in a zig zag motion whilst dropping your clothes as apparently the crocs find it hard to change direction whilst running and they would stop at each pile of clothes to sniff, giving you ample time to escape, hmmmmm not sure if he was kidding or not and really much not good advice if you are only wearing swimming costumes 😛

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