Tidbit Tuesdays - Alligator and Snake Safety

 On Thursday, the HOA welcomed Sam from the Department of Natural Resources to discuss living with our natural neighbors. We had a wonderful, interactive crowd and thank everyone for attending. Here is a little review for residents who were not able to attend. Let us first start with our dear friends, the alligators.

Alligators

There are no known human fatalities due to alligator attacks in South Carolina...ever. The majority of humans attacked by alligators were actively disturbing (poking and prodding) the alligator, and the alligator responded. Hissing is a defense mechanism for alligators if you are getting too close, but they will not attack unprovoked.

A long alligator is an old alligator. A twelve foot alligator can be anywhere from 50-80 years old. In the spring, male alligators move around significantly, especially at night, looking for mates. If you find an alligator on the move, leave it alone and it should move on in about 30 minutes. They naturally freeze when threatened, so they have to calm down to leave.

Why do alligators live in our ponds?

Our retention ponds are perfect "bed and breakfasts" for alligators. Shallow ponds warm up quickly in the spring allowing the alligator to warm up and digest food. Speaking of food, turtles are a major food source for alligators. Unfortunately, goslings and ducklings are easy meals for alligators. However, you have to remember this is all part of nature and to not attack the alligator for eating another wild creature. 

How to be safe around alligators

Assume that any pond in the low country has an alligator in it. Patrol your pets and children around ponds, and do not allow them to approach the water's edge. Alligators kill by drowning their prey. While any alligator can be euthanized for being a nuisance, only gators greater than 6 feet long really have the physical capabilities of taking down a larger animal (dog, etc). Unfortunately, relocating an alligator is not an acceptable option because they return directly to their previous location as soon as they are released.

Snakes

Our conversation then transitioned to snakes. The Retreat has a variety of snakes that especially like to move around near dusk. While the best idea is to give the snake enough space and go around, there is a general rule of thumb for identifying venomous snakes vs. non-venomous snakes. 

Round headed snakes are non-venomous while snakes that have a wide, flattened head are venomous. Fairly simple, right?

What about Coral (venomous) and Scarlet King (non-venomous) snakes? Both have color combinations of black, red and yellow. But the order is key to quickly identifying the venomous snake. "Red and yellow kill a fellow" is a nice rhyme to remember which one is the venomous Coral snake (pictured right).  Can you see that the coral snake has a "flatter head" as well? 

Do you know of any other educational seminars that are available to speak at The Retreat?  If so, mention it in the comments section in the blog or contact Jen at CMG.