Reality Check!
Admittedly, I've been having quite a bit of an existential crisis these past few days - hence my absence from posting. I decided yesterday that I needed to get back on that proverbial horse if I wanted to get past this all consuming apathy and inertia. So to my favorite Gator Hole I went after supper for sunset, prepared to do battle with my self inflicted demons. I got off to a slow start, seemingly submerged in a quagmire of quicksand of my own thoughts when I spotted my quarry cautiously approaching. This Alligator and I have had so many one sided conversations. I have drawn strength and wisdom from his silent and patient ancient presence. Three days ago, however, I didn't really know if I ever wanted to see him again. I am cautiously optimistic that I have gotten past these emotions that don't even encumber his cold blooded Reptilian Brain, fueled solely by his instincts to survive. No judgment, no love, nor any other emotion, just raw reaction that has served his kind for time eternal. I left him with an uneasy peace in my own over thinking brain, one of my favorite Neil Young songs covered by Dave Matthews and Jason Isbell playing on the radio, Cortez the Killer. It satisfied my soul, so appropriate with the hauntingly beautiful and yet disturbing tune and words, in harmony and yet not. Such is life. It doesn't always fit our plan... If we want to exist we have to learn to take the good along with the bad. We have to balance on that tightrope and enjoy the dance - no matter the rhythm.... or the rhyme...
The fateful evening of June 29th started with the promise of a Diva Pink sunset, the soft pastel hues beginning to reflect off Popeye's glistening hide. I barely had time to get a couple of shots before his attention was diverted from me to something off in right field.
As the colors of the sunset began intensifying, my subject made that all too familiar turn signifying that he had interests that were drawing him away from my lens. I pleaded with him not to leave me. Not now Popeye! I just got here Buddy and those Pinks are getting deeper and darker! Yes, I have conversations with this Alligator just like I do with my dogs. Sometimes he stops and listens. Not that fateful night. He had intentions other than curiosity ruling his head...
I scanned the vicinity to see what his attention was locked and loaded on and for a brief second I was elated to see another Alligator head bobbing where Little Olive normally takes her station before cautiously entering this dragon king's domain. To my and that other Gator's horror, Popeye torpedoed himself in its direction, quickly submerging, readying himself for attack. Was this Olive? I don't know. I may never know. All I know is that that smaller Gator was swimming for its life but Popeye's massive size and strength overpowered it. Some distance away I heard a sickening splash and knew the outcome before I saw it. I watched them struggle for an indeterminate time. I was transfixed, unable to look away, viewing the unimaginable. Yes, I know Alligators are cannibalistic. Yes, I know Big Bulls fiercely defend their territory but I wasn't prepared to witness the scene unfolding before my very eyes...
I struggled with whether or not to post any of the short bursts of video I captured that night or not. This incident affected me so profoundly that in order to heal, I felt I should to get past it. Again, was this my Olive? That question keeps replaying in my mind, like the needle of a phonograph skipping over dust, unable to reset and continue without some sort of intervention. This is my intervention for my own self, sharing this story of one Alligator who lost its life that night. In the dying of the light, with a raucous orchestra of cicadas accompanying, I heard a 7 footer emit that all too familiar electronic cry that hatchlings make calling for their Mama. It was several octaves lower and much weaker but unmistakably a plaintively cry for help as it disappeared into that vast abyss of oblivion that we humans call death...
Drumroll Please ..
Allow me to Introduce to you 'Tude, the baby Gator I first encountered on Mother's Day on a walk with Emmylou. I caught a glimpse of a tiny head and tail in the middle of the same little pond I met my Cyclops Gator in some 7 years ago. Of course, no camera, no pics. My first thought was Whoa! That baby is too small to be out alone so I took a wide birth back home with Ems. I made many solo excursions circumventing the entire habitat at differing times with no luck spotting Mama. I saw no prints or tail drags in the mud or slides indicating an adult was on the premises. I contacted Frank Robb, Alligator Researcher and Conservationist / Educator from Florida and he reassured me that an 18 / 20 inch Gator was about 3 years old and perfectly capable of surviving in the wild on its own. Babies only stay with their Moms for about 2 years. Alligators are the only Reptiles that fiercely protect, defend and care for their young, giving them quite an evolutionary advantage in my opinion.
Emmylou was in her enclosure for some fresh air and enrichment when I heard her alert me to something different. I'll let the Video say the rest. As soon as I spotted the problem I ran to get my phone ...SOUND UP!
The rest of the scene unfolding underneath the boat shelter yesterday... Pinky and Hazel were in the backyard with only Pink barking .SOUND UP!
I only took a few shots as the little was stressed and hissing. I rounded up the pups and got them in the house and things quieted after a few minutes. I went out later to find the baby underneath a boat, no longer in a corner. It had relaxed slightly, mouth no longer gaping and not hissing. Emmylou had hushed herself but Pinky was still cranked up indoors. Long story short the next time I saw my new friend it was safely swimming in its pond. Moral of the story: If you spot an Alligator in your yard please just leave it alone. It doesn't want to stay on terra firma, it will return to the water or a different pond. It doesn't want to be around people or barking dogs.
Of course, contain your animals (or children) if a Gator is spotted, even if it's a little one. I am so Grateful for my encounter yesterday as it filled my heart. I hope I will be able to observe this baby grow to adulthood like I did my baby Cyclops who is now over 6 feet even with a bitten off tail tip from an encounter with another female a few years back. Remember only 2 to 3 % of Alligators survive to adulthood. This baby is still endangered by predatory Great Blue Herons which stalk the pond edges, automobile and human encounters and cannibalistic predation by larger Gators. The odds are definitely against it. This baby is the Lone surviving juvenile from a clutch of probably 35 eggs laid by a female 3 summers ago. If you are lucky enough to see an Alligator in the wild, take a moment to marvel at its adaptability and instincts to survive. We can indeed live in harmony with and learn from these creatures which have a much better survival track record than we do if we just step back and let them be.
Of course, contain your animals (or children) if a Gator is spotted, even if it's a little one. I am so Grateful for my encounter yesterday as it filled my heart. I hope I will be able to observe this baby grow to adulthood like I did my baby Cyclops who is now over 6 feet even with a bitten off tail tip from an encounter with another female a few years back. Remember only 2 to 3 % of Alligators survive to adulthood. This baby is still endangered by predatory Great Blue Herons which stalk the pond edges, automobile and human encounters and cannibalistic predation by larger Gators. The odds are definitely against it. This baby is the Lone surviving juvenile from a clutch of probably 35 eggs laid by a female 3 summers ago. If you are lucky enough to see an Alligator in the wild, take a moment to marvel at its adaptability and instincts to survive. We can indeed live in harmony with and learn from these creatures which have a much better survival track record than we do if we just step back and let them be.
I'm Always on the Lookout for My Gators. Sometimes
they appear in the Skies rather than the Waters ...
Oh Happy Day!
they appear in the Skies rather than the Waters ...
Oh Happy Day!
Author
My name is Kathy Sykes and I'm a wildlife photographer who spends her time stalking the American Alligator in my beloved Brunswick County. You may see me out and about in my “Gator Up” truck with my shotgun rider Hazel Mae searching for sunrises, gators and all things swampy. Come ride with me and share in the adventures of profiling and protecting this amazing creature and its habitats.