You Never Know What Might Come Tiptoeing Out Of The Brush

Last week I noticed our pal happy Mr. Gator here taking a slow step out from the brush at one edge of the swamp. You would think he would make quite a racket busting up through there stepping on dried leaves and snapping twigs, but he never made a sound.

41 thoughts on “You Never Know What Might Come Tiptoeing Out Of The Brush”

lylekrahn on March 18, 2013 at 5:58 pm said:

I suppose thats a good reminder to look behind you once in a while.

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- Phil Lanoue on March 18, 2013 at 6:42 pm said:
  
  That’s exactly what happened to us a while back. We were staring out toward the swamp when I suddenly had the feeling I should look behind me, I never heard anything, just got a feeling. And a guy like this was walking right up behind us and only feet away. Like the one in this photo, it never made a sound coming up through the brush.
  We did a Holy S&%t jump sideways and let the boy pass. To this day I wonder what would have happened if I did not see it. I can imagine feeling something pushing me out of the way and looking down and seeing that big head. 😯
  
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  - lylekrahn on March 18, 2013 at 7:04 pm said:
    
    That would definitely be a thing!
    
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mariayarri on March 18, 2013 at 6:17 pm said:

I love animals but i´m terrified of any kind of reptiles … This one is really a prehistoric animal … How big is he or she ? And how far away where you when you got this stunning photo ? … // Maria

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- Phil Lanoue on March 18, 2013 at 6:44 pm said:
  
  They are prehistoric looking especially to see one walking. They are the closest thing we have to a living dinosaur.
  I was a respectful distance away but not so much because I fear it may attack me just mostly I don’t wish to interfere with it.
  
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- Phil Lanoue on March 18, 2013 at 6:47 pm said:
  
  Maria, for more close views check out this post from Sept. 😯
  
  https://phillanoue.com/2012/09/09/you-never-know-what-may-come-creeping-out-of-the-weeds/
  
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- mariayarri on March 19, 2013 at 5:52 am said:
  
  Now i have checked out your other gator photos …. And i really enjoyed loooking at them … My two favourites ; the gator taking a walk on the road … and the one who had a turtle come visiting him…
  I´m so glad that i`ve found your blog . Florida and its wildlife is so different from what we have here ….
  // Maria
  
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  - Phil Lanoue on March 19, 2013 at 9:44 am said:
    
    Hi Maria, thank you for checking out the alligator photos and I’m glad you enjoyed them!
    I am in the state of South Carolina along the coast. People may not think we have many alligators but we sure do! 🙂
    
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  - mariayarri on March 19, 2013 at 3:32 pm said:
    
    Oh, i´m so sorry for my bad geography knowledge … South Carolina … you have the state Georgia between your state of S.C and Florida … Am i right now ?
    And you are right , i thought that only Florida and Georgia had Alligators …
    But i´, glad that i got the chance to learn about the wildlife in your state 🙂 // Maria
    
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    - Phil Lanoue on March 20, 2013 at 12:59 pm said:
      
      Yes you are correct Maria, Georgia is between SC and Florida. The alligators do not go much farther north then where we are here. Louisiana has quite a lot of alligators as well.
      
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niasunset on March 18, 2013 at 7:00 pm said:

Oh my God! Seems so handsome 🙂 Dear Phil, you are amazing. Thanks and Love, nia

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- Phil Lanoue on March 19, 2013 at 9:44 am said:
  
  Well thank you very much Nia, I’m so happy you like the handsome Mr. Gator! 🙂
  
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sallywoodphotography on March 18, 2013 at 7:58 pm said:

Toothy smile!

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- Phil Lanoue on March 19, 2013 at 9:46 am said:
  
  He sure does! 🙂
  
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Lisa Gordon on March 18, 2013 at 8:50 pm said:

Yikes!!! But what a great photograph this is!

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- Phil Lanoue on March 19, 2013 at 9:47 am said:
  
  Yikes indeed! Thanks, glad you like it!
  
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Bella Remy Photography on March 18, 2013 at 9:43 pm said:

Now that is scary. A stealth gator.

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- Phil Lanoue on March 19, 2013 at 9:47 am said:
  
  Oh he is quite stealthy, and a bit of a sneak too. 😀
  
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Gunta on March 18, 2013 at 10:07 pm said:

He looks all shiny and bright. I just don’t want to hear of you running into one in hungry mode. I’d miss the pictures. 😀

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- Phil Lanoue on March 19, 2013 at 9:49 am said:
  
  He has that shiny black look to him because he just crawled up out of the marsh pond and is still wet. Once he lays around in the sun for a while and dries off he will get the more typical grey look.
  I try to stay farther back from the really hungry looking ones. 😯 🙂
  
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janmasyn on March 19, 2013 at 1:10 am said:

Very nice portrait of mr. Gator Phil. 🙂

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- Phil Lanoue on March 19, 2013 at 9:49 am said:
  
  Thanks very much Jan, he was an excellent subject to work with. 🙂
  
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Andrew on March 19, 2013 at 2:08 am said:

Now that’s a close encounter of a kind I could live without. I did lie down in front of a water monitor once to take an eye level shot at about 5′ but I wouldn’t try that with a ‘gator. Superb detail in this image, Phil.

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- Phil Lanoue on March 19, 2013 at 9:51 am said:
  
  Thanks very much Andrew!
  I think I was laying down at about eye level for this one from back in Sept.
  https://phillanoue.com/2012/09/09/you-never-know-what-may-come-creeping-out-of-the-weeds/ 🙂
  
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meyer23 on March 19, 2013 at 5:08 am said:

Great shot. I can’t imagine that he’s moving without sound.

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- Phil Lanoue on March 19, 2013 at 9:52 am said:
  
  Thanks! Yes it is very surprising to me how something this large can bust through bushes and make no sound. 😯
  
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roughseasinthemed on March 19, 2013 at 9:48 am said:

Gorgeous beast. Mr Gator I mean. You may well be too, for all I know, but he does have a certain je ne sais quoi about him. And such elegance too.

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- Phil Lanoue on March 19, 2013 at 9:55 am said:
  
  Ah I see you are a person of impeccable taste. I’ll pass along your compliments to our handsome fellow here next time I see him. As far as me being gorgeous though…eh, not so much.
  
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Cowboys and Crossbones on March 19, 2013 at 2:12 pm said:

Mr. Gator is kinda cute. And now we know that he’s stealth, too? Guess he’ll never be a pair of cowboy boots!

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- Phil Lanoue on March 20, 2013 at 12:55 pm said:
  
  Oh he is plenty cute alright! And very stealthy. 😯
  But shhhh don’t mention boots around him. He is very sensitive and we would not want to hurt his feelings.
  
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  - Cowboys and Crossbones on March 20, 2013 at 1:59 pm said:
    
    I would never, EVER want to hurt an alligators feelings. I think they may have a way of retaliating…
    
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    - Phil Lanoue on March 20, 2013 at 3:20 pm said:
      
      Yes they have been known to get a bit cranky and that’s not good for anybody.
      
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Chillbrook on March 19, 2013 at 2:37 pm said:

Smashing Photo Phil. Always lovely to see the gators! 🙂

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- Phil Lanoue on March 20, 2013 at 12:55 pm said:
  
  Thanks Adrian! Gotta love our old pal happy Mr. Gator! 🙂
  
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Maggie Davey on March 20, 2013 at 1:09 pm said:

Are the alligators livening up now, after the winter? It is spring in the UK (although still cold) – is it spring at your end?

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- Phil Lanoue on March 20, 2013 at 3:23 pm said:
  
  Yes Maggie, Spring here and the alligators get more active as the temps heat up. Late Spring will start their mating season and is when they can get quite territorial. This is a case where size does matter, the larger ones rule the area.
  The will eat all summer and into early fall and then will take a break again from eating and major activity until next winter.
  
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Katariina Partala on March 21, 2013 at 11:06 am said:

He really looks like he’s tiptoeing… you should be more even more careful there now that you know how quiet they can be!! :p

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- Phil Lanoue on March 22, 2013 at 10:55 am said:
  
  He looked like he was being extra careful to be extra quiet. 😯 Probably a good thing for him, but not so much a good thing for me if I’m not paying attention. 🙂
  
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theforagingphotographer on March 23, 2013 at 7:13 pm said:

What a fabulous expression! i love it!

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Charlie@Seattle Trekker on March 24, 2013 at 12:42 am said:

Amazing, and yes, quite a bit scarry.

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crazytraintotinkytown on March 27, 2013 at 5:35 am said:

silent and deadly

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