Mimi Should Have warned Me!!!! Dangers of Shooting an Egret!!!!

[theantiquetiger]

I had about 30 minutes this afternoon before picking the girls up from school, so I went back to the place where I saw the two baby alligators the other day.

The bayou where I shoot these at has an old, closed down, road side bar, MiMi's Alligator Bayou Bar:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6054/6306813987_ae1877f0f3_b.jpg



I didn't see any alligators but I see an egret far off, so I make my way around to get this better shot.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6034/6307346098_d7eafcbca1_b.jpg


As I was focusing on the egret, I did not notice this 5-6 foot alligator about 20 feet away.


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6105/6306857353_66db9c133a_b.jpg


All this while, just up the bank, there was this 10+ foot alligator asleep. I did not see him because of the glare off of him. I was able to get closer before spooking him

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6099/6306847113_0919ec6dda_b.jpg


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6099/6306835493_3873dc1982_b.jpg


Here is another shoot of the big boy. It was soft, so I did not post edit it. I just wanted to show y'all the size.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6110/6307495934_fa9aef23e0_b.jpg

[Bambi]

neat! I love the alligator in the green.

[GreenleafJason]

The alligator in the green is my favorite too. I like how you can see his green eye. I don't think I would be brave enough to see how close I could get before they are spooked, I would just start with the zoom lens.

[theantiquetiger]

The alligator in the green is my favorite too. I like how you can see his green eye. I don't think I would be brave enough to see how close I could get before they are spooked, I would just start with the zoom lens.

The gator in the green water is the same big gator.

I was never in harms way. I shot these from a boardwalk and because the water is so low, I was at least five feet above them. Alligators will not attack, they will run at the sight of humans (I would not want to test this theory in person)

Here is a couple more of him

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6034/6308079258_b14226d1b4_b.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6237/6307564333_141c5fee10_b.jpg

[Hillbillygirl]

Very nice sharp shots of the Alligator in the Duckweed AT.
(The bird, however, is a Great Blue Heron).

[Mad Aussie]

Very neat seeing gators in the wild! Our crocs will aggressively pursue you so I think I like your gators better!

[thoughton]

Another vote for the gator in duckweed, very nice indeed!

The most dangerous wildlife around here are the occasional fox, or hedgehog. Not sure how I'd feel about 10 foot monsters living near my house :)

[asnow]

Cool set. I don't think I would want to get that close to test whether they would run at the site of you.
Like both the gator in the duckweed and the one in the green water where you can see his green eye.

[theantiquetiger]

Very neat seeing gators in the wild! Our crocs will aggressively pursue you so I think I like your gators better!

I can only remember one gator attack here in Louisiana, and that was only a couple years ago. A 12 year old boy was swimming in a river and was attacked. The gator grabbed him around the upper arm and the boy freed himself by poking the gator in the eye. Sadly, the gator still took the boy's arm but he survived. Gators are not just in the deep swamps like you see on TV. These shoots were taken within 10 miles of downtown Baton Rouge (and 2 miles from my house).

[Mad Aussie]

Amazing Gators don't take more people when so close to people like that. Crocs will not hesitate to attack humans, especially stupid tourists who ignore the signs by dangerous waterways. Basically you have to think careful swimming anywhere in creeks and the sea in the top 3rd of Australia for fear of Crocs, Box Jellies etc.
Lately though it's been Great White Sharks killing people over here and they have all been in the southern regions where it's colder water.

[asnow]

Reminds me of when I was in Australia. They had a saying I guess for stupid tourists like me .." you only have to worry about the salt water crocs, the fresh water ones won't bother you". They said this as we were waking chest high across the water crossings.

[Mad Aussie]

Reminds me of when I was in Australia. They had a saying I guess for stupid tourists like me .." you only have to worry about the salt water crocs, the fresh water ones won't bother you". They said this as we were waking chest high across the water crossings.
That's right ... the little freshies are fine.

[Lizardqing]

I'm with everyone else and like the one in the duck weed. Finally got to get some pics of wild gators myself yesterday. suckers are everywhere since the water level is so low around here and has pushed them into smaller areas.