# Suspected Burglar Killed By Alligator **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 8, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842 "2015-12-08T19:42:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/21 "2015-12-09T15:16:51Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > Gators are fascinating creatures and one of my favorites. But frankly we have a surplus. Most of them don’t recognize humans as prey, and are fearful of our presence. That’s a really good thing, because there are at least 1.5 million of them in Florida and if they had the disposition of Nile Crocodiles or Indo Pacific (Australian Salt Water) Crocodiles, all human residents would be in considerable danger. Luckily, gators are mostly big wussies. You have to be really dumb and get really, really close to become a target. As this burglar apparently found out. While I am not exactly afraid of gators, I do have my limits. I remember as a high schooler visiting some very large and popular spring in central Florida while on vacation. Local yokels just drinking, bbqing, yelling, and splashing in the water. On the far bank was a “herd” of gators sunning themselves. Looked like a bad scene out of a Tarzan movie. Uh…no ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/22 "2015-12-09T15:17:39Z")
This should have gone in the “Positive alligator news of the day” thread. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/23 "2015-12-09T15:30:38Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > While I am not exactly afraid of gators, I do have my limits. > > I remember as a high schooler visiting some very large and popular spring in central Florida while on vacation. > > Local yokels just drinking, bbqing, yelling, and splashing in the water. On the far bank was a “herd” of gators sunning themselves. Looked like a bad scene out of a Tarzan movie. > > Uh…no Eh, we’ve been kayaking down Florida rivers and we see them all the time. They’ll leave you alone if you leave them alone. Back in the day, when the Naval training center was open in Orlando, Ivylad used to play golf at the course where a gator would sun himself on the ninth hole. Everyone just putted around it. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/24 "2015-12-09T15:33:50Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > While I am not exactly afraid of gators, I do have my limits. > > I remember as a high schooler visiting some very large and popular spring in central Florida while on vacation. > > Local yokels just drinking, bbqing, yelling, and splashing in the water. On the far bank **was a “herd” of gators** sunning themselves. Looked like a bad scene out of a Tarzan movie. > > Uh…no According to [this site](http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Pointless/AnimalGroups.html), that would be a “congregation”. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/25 "2015-12-09T15:35:35Z")
Like Southern Baptists? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/26 "2015-12-09T16:32:52Z")
Alligator diet is primarily made up of smaller, slower moving things. Garfish, mudfish, some turtles, and snails all qualify. Gators also swallow mud from the bottom and digest the invertebrates hiding in it. While they are opportunistic predators of larger game (as this incident demonstrates) they mostly don’t bother chasing things like wading birds, which commonly approach them closely. It’s likely that the energy expenditures from unproductive chases are larger than the energy intake from the rare successes, making them disinclined to go for anything with its wits about it. And wild alligators see humans as a threat, typically sliding off into the water when we approach. It’s likely that the victim here, being in the water already, triggered a bite response by blundering into and touching the gator. Going from biting to predating was a swift downhill slope, once the animal was engaged. Incidents like this are quite rare, despite the numbers of alligators and the large number of gator – human encounters. Like most wildlife, continued exposure can acclimate them to human presence. So the ones at, say, Anhinga Trail in Everglades National Park, or any of the popular Florida springs, even gators resident at golf courses, may become so inured to our presence that they ignore even close approach. As a word of advice, just don’t press that too hard. At some point the gator is going to react. He’ll probably bolt and dive into the water. He may though conclude that flight isn’t an option, and decide to fight instead. Unless you are very quick, and experienced in handling these animals, that scenario is not too bright for you. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/27 "2015-12-09T17:26:37Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Eh, we’ve been kayaking down Florida rivers and we see them all the time. They’ll leave you alone if you leave them alone. > > Back in the day, when the Naval training center was open in Orlando, Ivylad used to play golf at the course where a gator would sun himself on the ninth hole. Everyone just putted around it. There are YouTube videos (I’m on my phone, or else I’d link) where cats walk right up to alligators and swat them with their paws, and the gators just turn away and go back into the water. Although I doubt anybody would post a video of a gator taking a bite out of the cat. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/28 "2015-12-09T18:17:18Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I find stories like this interesting. Because the dead guy was a suspected burglar, we find it amusing, similar to karma coming back on him. Is it because we think that death is an appropriate punishment for robbing innocent victims? If this story was about resident wading into a pond to retrieve something and being inadvertently attacked and killed by the gator, the tone of the article and reaction by people reading the story would be much different…more empathy. Interesting point… I agree that my gut reaction was “he shouldn’t have been breaking into houses,” but you rightly indicate that B&E doesn’t carry the death penalty. Imagine if the crime were different, such as if he were hiding after having slashed someone’s tires or something else trivial–it would be like saying that a person who rocks a soda machine in an attempt to get free soda and has it fall on him deserves to die (not sure if that is an urban legend). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/29 "2015-12-09T18:19:43Z")
This is a story more about Darwin Awards than it is about justice or crime and punishment. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/30 "2015-12-09T18:46:58Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Just because we don’t consider burglary to be a capital crime doesn’t mean that he deserves sympathy when he could have avoided that fate simply by being a decent citizen. Or as a friend of mine likes to say: “crime should be a high-risk occupation.” ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/31 "2015-12-09T19:49:40Z")
I’m not mourning over the guy, but somebody probably is. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/32 "2015-12-09T20:10:57Z")
This has nothing to do with grannies, but the first thing that popped into my head was \*Poke Salad Annie \*“Chomp. Chomp chomp”. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/33 "2015-12-09T20:44:38Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I’m not mourning over the guy, but somebody probably is. There are probably more animal rights activists mourning the loss of the alligator than there are mourners for the kid. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/34 "2015-12-09T21:22:09Z")
When alligators are outlawed, only outlaws will have really stylish shoes. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/35 "2015-12-09T23:23:37Z")
The part of the story that bother me is this, “Before he was reported missing, Riggins called his girlfriend to tell her he would be in the area breaking into homes.” So how did the conversation go? I can imagine her reply, “OK, honey. If you see a nice Bluetooth speaker, pick it up. we need an gift for that Christmas party.” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/36 "2015-12-09T23:30:31Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The part of the story that bother me is this, “Before he was reported missing, Riggins called his girlfriend to tell her he would be in the area breaking into homes.” So how did the conversation go? I can imagine her reply, “OK, honey. If you see a nice Bluetooth speaker, pick it up. we need an gift for that Christmas party.” “OK, honey. If you see some nice blue meth, pick it up. we need some for when we steal Christmas party decorations at Walmart.” Fixed that for you. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/37 "2015-12-11T17:50:17Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > There are probably more animal rights activists mourning the loss of the alligator than there are mourners for the kid. Too bad he wasn’t killed by one of the homeowner’s that he was attempting to rob, he and his family have overwhelming outpouring of support. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/38 "2015-12-11T19:32:21Z")
I love when clueless people doing wrong are eaten by gators. (It happens more than you’d think…but I’m a Floridian and have 30+ years of stories!) > [@Encinitas](#): > > The gator was just standing his ground! This wins the thread! 😃 > [@billfish678](#): > > While I am not exactly afraid of gators, I do have my limits. > > I remember as a high schooler visiting some very large and popular spring in central Florida while on vacation. > > Local yokels just drinking, bbqing, yelling, and splashing in the water. On the far bank was a “herd” of gators sunning themselves. Looked like a bad scene out of a Tarzan movie. > > Uh…no Floridians already know the unwritten rules of living near alligators without getting chomped. We went to springs a lot when I lived in Florida. I’ve camped (and swum) close to them. If you know the rules and don’t do anything stupid, you should be fine. Generally, when I’d hear about someone getting hurt or killed, they did something stupid that broke the rules – they went swimming at dawn or dusk, or they swam in the weedy part of the springs, or they were by mom gator’s babies. Or (worse) they let a little kid go swimming alone in one of those areas. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/39 "2015-12-11T19:38:19Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Eh, we’ve been kayaking down Florida rivers and we see them all the time. They’ll leave you alone if you leave them alone. > > Back in the day, when the Naval training center was open in Orlando, Ivylad used to play golf at the course where a gator would sun himself on the ninth hole. Everyone just putted around it. I know the 9th hole gator of which you speak. 🙂 My dad worked for the Navy. There’s a gator in the water hazard at the club where my dad plays. No one tries to retrieve the ball from there. They’ll have it moved when it gets too large. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842/40 "2015-12-11T21:07:16Z")
> [@](#): > > they were by mom gator’s babies. Yeah, it’s a tough call between Mama Grizzlies and Mama Gators. You wouldn’t think a reptile could be so maternal, but you Do Not Mess With The Nest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspected-burglar-killed-by-alligator/739842.md?page=3)