Titusville Alligator in marina!

Off the back of our boat in the Titusville Municipal Marina!

I was coming back from my morning run when I spotted what looked like an alligator in the distance. I could see the head but nothing else. As I got closer, he disappeared from sight, sinking down beneath the water. It was hard to tell how big he was but I alerted the dockmaster anyway.

Later that day I was sitting on the back of the boat when I glanced out and saw the alligator again. This time he was clearly visible right back to his tail. Judging from the length of nearby boats, he appeared to be about 8 ft long if not 9 ft! He was lazily swimming between the docks, not paying much attention to anything. A manatee swam directly under him, not bothered by his presence. Dolphins surfaced in the marina and totally ignored him. I would think that any of the birds we see everyday would provide a tasty snack.

Here's a better comparison in size to a nearby boat

He swam along the dock and headed out to the bay the last time I saw him. What comes to mind are the stories of physical exploits they are capable of, like dashing 30 mph in short spurts or 8 ft leaps into the air when the attraction of prey is great enough. They appear very slow and lazy, something they use to their great advantage in catching prey!! There was a report of an animal guide for a tour boat that lost a hand to an alligator when trying to feed it for the benefit of his passengers in the boat. He didn't expect the quickness from such an apparently sluggish creature.

So with all that as background, we give the lagoon a wide berth - no swimming for Hoolie!!