2 year old taken by alligator at Disney Land resort Florida hotel

Sleepy wrote: »

Yup, speaking for myself I'd have assumed the alligator population was mainly out in the swamps with the occasional stray finding it's way into nearby suburbs. The thought that Walt Disney World wouldn't be able to protect it's park guests from them would never have even crossed my mind.

One question that crosses my mind seeing your mention of "fresh water". Would making that lake safe have been as simple as salinating the water?

That's a really interesting suggestion. Alligators prefer fresh water and are rarely found in the ocean, but they are commonly found in brackish water, which is more salinated than fresh water - enough that sharks and dolphins are commonly found there as well. There's a joke in Florida that in certain swimming spots, if a gator won't get you a shark will.

The other problem is that this lake is connected to a natural lake, so any attempt to salinate it will flow over to Bay Lake and disrupt the aquatic life there.

I think the best solutions involve changing human behavior rather than animal behavior. I think Disney needs to put up alligator signs around their "beach" areas with one big sign in particular explaining a few basics about gator behavior - how they prefer to hunt at dusk/night, how they can attack even in shallow/wading water. I also think Disney needs to make sure there's at least 6-10 feet between the shoreline and any beach chairs, etc..

It's really not that dangerous to wade in most water, especially during the day time with lots of people around. Alligators hate crowds of people. Bay Lake used to have a theme park called River Country. That operated for years in the actual lake and no one ever got hurt or injured by an alligator. It was eventually closed down because a child died after an amoeba crawled into his ear and ate his brain. That's the real reason they have those "No Swimming" signs up.

Neyite wrote: »

That was me. And I didn't equate them at all. I was making a totally different point which you clearly missed.

But Dingle do have sharks. And I'm pretty sure that the ones there have teeth and are capable of biting if they felt threatened or scared.. I'm pretty sure I saw a hammerhead shark in there when I visited, and while the black tip and white tip sharks are usually pretty timid they have the capability to bite and have done in the past.

So its pretty stupid to imply that because Dingle doesn't have a Great White or other more aggressive species, that the sharks in general and particularly the ones in Dingle there are not potentially harmful.

Ahhh FFS.
Everything nearly bites if pushed enough.

Hammer heads :rolleyes:
They had sand tigers which died due to screwing up tank AFAIK.

BTW hammer heads are one of the most aggressive.

How the fook you are actually dragging in a small little aquarium in a discussion about a 200 acre open water lagoon in Florida, the natural habit of this animal is beyond ridiculous at this stage.

It is like comparing Dublin zoo to Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

Samaris wrote: »

To be honest, there is actually an increasing danger of large sharks in Irish waters, primarily down around the south coast, Kerry, Cork, and perhaps Galway. At least five Great Whites have been caught in Irish waters over the last decade, as the water has warmed enough to make the area habitable to them. There is also evidence for larger sharks up around Scotland too, as there's a big seal population which is very attractive to your average large shark.

Ireland has 39 species of shark in its waters at the moment, the vast majority of which would be a hell of a lot more alarmed at a human than the human should be about it. Generally they're small, under 1M, and are really, really unlikely to take a lump out of you unless it thought you were a very small seal. Although sharks -are- attracted to humans and their activities, since many human activities (i.e. trawling and fishing), equal easy lunch for a lazy predator.

...
Obviously, this is not even close in comparison to the risk of alligators in Florida, which is a definite risk with a very common species native to the region. Comparing them is apples and oranges in terms of risk factor.

Exactly.

I would love to know how many people here commenting have actually been around central Florida.
And I don't mean sitting on the beach in Clearwater, shopping on I Drive in Orlando, queuing for the rides in Disney or on the p*ss in Pleasure Island at night.

The fecking state is full of lakes, waterways and now man made drainage canals all of which are the stomping ground of alligators.
Even watching Only Fools and Horses would have taught some people that.

Yes Disney should have signs warning about gators, but I know enough to know there is no way in hell I would allow one of my kids near open water in Florida, most especially at night.

It is sad that a little boy is now dead through people making assumptions that Disney had eliminated a dangerous animal, which it appears even Florida's wildlife experts admit is very hard to do.

BTW there is population of over 1.25 million alligators in Florida so they aren't uncommon.

If a person with a nut allergy eats a dish in a restaurant that has nuts in the sauce and it wasn't disclosed anywhere in the menu or the restaurant, the person dies as a result; who is responsible?

[Deleted User] wrote: »

As someone who vomits uncontrollably for 48 hours after eating shellfish, yes, yes they do. There might not be shellfish in the meal itself, but I've fallen victim to the "but we did use fish stock", too late.

But the two are not equal. Disney knows there are alligators in their water but only put up "do not swim" signs. The child was not swimming. A simple sign with an alligator picture on it on the beach could very well have prevented this.

I agree with you.

anna080 wrote: »

But doesn't the restaurant have the responsibility to provide such information should the customer fail to ask?

Maybe in the case of nuts it being such a common allergy often severe for many people. But what if Im allergic to a very peculiar substance that only 1 in every 50,000 people are allergic to and I eat and die in their restaurant? You hardly expect this to be their fault and not mine.