A couple days ago, a juvenile alligator was spotted on a log in Lake Wylie. This is thought to be the result of an irresponsible owner realizing that he or she could not take care of a wild animal such as this. You may wonder, " how is this an environmental problem?" Alligators are not native to this part of South/North Carolina, so this person has just introduced a non-native predator to the lake. Now this may be beneficial in some ways such as controlling the muskrat population, but in the long run it is here unnaturally which makes it an issue. I think the best solution in this case is no solution. Just leaving the alligator there is the best thing. There is only one so it doesn't pose a large threat. People may be scared about having an alligator in the lake but in all actuality it is only around 3 feet and won't do anything to humans. Also it probably won't make it through winter. In conclusion alligators are not going to invade lake Wylie so there is no reason to be worried.
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/look-viewer-sends-photos-alligator-lake-wylie/ngyBC/?__federated=1
Interesting post... The herpetology-phanatic in me personally loves the idea of alligators in Lake Wylie. Although on a more realistic note, this is no doubt the result of an irresponsible and undereducated owner. I have been to some reptile shows where they have baby alligators for sale claiming that if you keep them in a small confined area, they won't grow bigger. It astounds me the number of people that buy alligators for the novelty factor and give them to their children. Sure, they may be "harmless" at first, but they do grow bigger, just like any animal. As far as I know, the only animal that adapts to its cage size is certain species of fish. I would love to see animal control capture the alligator and return it to the coast. It is a shame to let such a beautiful creature die due to an ignorant owner.
ReplyDeleteI recently saw the article on the alligator in Lake Wylie and I have stayed out of the lake since then. The alligator is going to get bigger and it could become a threat. I think that there is a solution though because it could easily be removed. Someone could go to the spot where it was seen and try to find it with bait. I don't want to be scared to swim in the lake because of a creature that shouldn't be there.
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't be afraid to swim in the lake. My grandfather lives on lake multrie and there are alligators all in that, yet we still swim in it. Alligators seldom attack humans without being provoked, and are easy to scare away when swimming by making a lot of noise. The only real issue comes when they run out of food, (as alligators in multrie did one year due to overpopulation) but one gator in a lake the size of wylie won't run out food sources. I do agree with Hannah though, the gator should be returned to a more natural habitat, or taken to a zoo in the event that it's unable to take care of itself (which would be the case if it were a pet as a baby and never learned to fend for itself in the wild).
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