Please Don't Feed the Gators

We took a great walk through a swampy river park while in Florida.

Most of the walkway was on an elevated boardwalk so we could view the plants and wildlife without disturbing them. This sign was posted in a very obvious place for an obvious reason.

Apparently the power of the jaws of a gator are not much different than some dinosaurs.

Quite impressive information.

Looking a lot like a dry log at the bank of the river, this 6 or 7 foot long mother appeared

sleepy and uninterested in much. This look was deceiving.

The more we studied her, the more we saw.(A truth for all of life.)

Peer carefully to the left of the end of her tail. Do you notice anything?

Maybe this will help you identify one of her children.

We were fortunate enough to have a man who knew lots about these gators standing nearby. He explained that these babies grow about 1 foot per year so this one below is actually 2 years old. Keep studying this picture and you'll see a new baby to his right, sort of hiding under the stick. This youngster is only 1 foot long and was born recently. As our eyes grew keener we noted numerous gator kids swimming and resting. All near Mama and a hole she has built into the bank to hide them at night. The knowledgeable man nearby said that the herons "eat the babies like popcorn"--oh, my!

I tried to post this little video of a baby gator swimming, but I can't get it to play. Any advice from anyone on how to post videos, I'd sure appreciate it.