What is the neighborhood coming to?
I live in a pretty developed area of Sarasota but we have a couple of ponds placed strategically in the neighborhood. These are pretty wild ponds and are not landscaped to the nth degree like some water spots I can name, so the wildlife are attracted to it.
Last week while I was walking Buzz at the end of my street, I saw a disturbing sight. Someone had caught a small alligator, maybe three feet long at the max and hung it on a fenceline between the road and a brushy area which borders one of the small ponds. This was not a professionally trapped alligator but instead, looked like some kids had caught him, wrapped a rope around his mouth and hung him from the fence to die. Was he living in one of the small ponds? Probably. Should he have been caught and hung on a fence to die a slow death? Absolutely not. Had the proper authorities been called, he could have been relocated somewhere before he increased in size and no one would have to worry about him eating a small dog.
Being a native, I am used to alligators in fresh water. They all live there even if you never see one. The main swimming hole in my hometown had too many to count but we would have NEVER attempted to catch one and then hang it on a fence to die. I would have received a whupping if I had even thought about doing something like that.
So tonight as I was beginning my walk, a pretty good-sized soft shell turtle was trying to cross my road from the pond on the other side. I quickly got him turned around and headed back to his pond. I didn't want some kids deciding he would be the next one to hang.
Last week while I was walking Buzz at the end of my street, I saw a disturbing sight. Someone had caught a small alligator, maybe three feet long at the max and hung it on a fenceline between the road and a brushy area which borders one of the small ponds. This was not a professionally trapped alligator but instead, looked like some kids had caught him, wrapped a rope around his mouth and hung him from the fence to die. Was he living in one of the small ponds? Probably. Should he have been caught and hung on a fence to die a slow death? Absolutely not. Had the proper authorities been called, he could have been relocated somewhere before he increased in size and no one would have to worry about him eating a small dog.
Being a native, I am used to alligators in fresh water. They all live there even if you never see one. The main swimming hole in my hometown had too many to count but we would have NEVER attempted to catch one and then hang it on a fence to die. I would have received a whupping if I had even thought about doing something like that.
So tonight as I was beginning my walk, a pretty good-sized soft shell turtle was trying to cross my road from the pond on the other side. I quickly got him turned around and headed back to his pond. I didn't want some kids deciding he would be the next one to hang.
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