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
This should have gone in the “Positive alligator news of the day” thread.
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.
According to this site, that would be a “congregation”.
Like Southern Baptists? 
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.
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.
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).
This is a story more about Darwin Awards than it is about justice or crime and punishment.
Or as a friend of mine likes to say: “crime should be a high-risk occupation.”
I’m not mourning over the guy, but somebody probably is.
This has nothing to do with grannies, but the first thing that popped into my head was *Poke Salad Annie *“Chomp. Chomp chomp”.
There are probably more animal rights activists mourning the loss of the alligator than there are mourners for the kid.
When alligators are outlawed, only outlaws will have really stylish shoes.
Regards,
Shodan
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.
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.
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!)
This wins the thread! 
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.
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.
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.