Gator, I'm sure you're considering all the options!
I understand the comments about if you kill a gator, one will take it's place. It may have to be an on-going effort.
Recently, I saw a TV special about sharks, great whites to be specific. It outlined four or five specific incidents of shark attacks on humans. The premise of some of the experts was that the sharks were really just "taste-testing" the victims, and determined that they didn't like the taste and let the victims go. The other basis for their thoughts was that if these huge sharks had wanted to kill the victims, it would have been no problem.
While all the subject victims of this documentary had survived, most lost legs or arms.
While I agree that the sharks could have killed these people had they wanted, it does not make me more comfortable. Granted that it's good to be alive, I still don't want to be taste-tested by a great white either.
My point is that a lot of animal behavior experts would like to assign a predictable nature to wildlife, almost as a post-explanation like "sure that bear ripped your nuts off, but all he really wanted was to be understood!"
Let me ask this question to anyone on the forum: If you were in a jon-boat, or any of the types of pond boats that we have, would you be comfortable, or feel safe, if there was a 10-12 foot gator near by?
