Alligator kills 28-year-old Texas man during late-night swim

I am from that part of Texas and alligator attacks are rare because alligators are not terribly dangerous - except during nesting season.

It is nesting season.

Most likely, the signs were there because alligators breed in that area and they probably have a number of nests with eggs nearby.

Also, I can pretty much guarantee alcohol was involved. No sober person would want to swim around in that muddy/silty water with all of the crabs, gators and other critters.

FWIW, this is a brief profile of a high school friend of mine who studies alligators in those waters.

 

I grew up in L.A., where there are gators all over and you have to be conscious of where you let your dogs play.

I some parts of the South, they're unavoidable, but you can still take steps to stay safe.

I'd be willing to bet almost any amount of money the phrase, "Hold my beer...hey, y'all! Watch this!" was involved somehow.

If you are going to swim where there might be gators, don't do it at night. Gators feed almost exclusively at night. That's why you never hear about unprovoked daytime attacks on people.

Always know where you're swimming and what's the in the water.

About two weeks ago, my mother's little dog, who's about 30 lbs, got in a staredown with a five foot gator in the pond next to her house. They won't remove them until they get to six feet. As if a five foot gator couldn't kill a dog or take somebody's leg off.

 

As my dad would say everytime I got hurt doing something stupid when I was a kid, "...and that's why we don't do that."