Well, I do believe that is an old wives tale. Like the one about if you are chased by a bear run down hill. In either case, both can out run you, down hill, up hill or zig zag. When a gator rises up on his legs, he can run down a dog. Case in point, an eight footer, caught and swallowed a poodle, that was not on a leash. It raised up and ran it down. Some friends of mine back in hight school days, lived on a Dairy, and had a deep drainage canal, that went into Lake Osbourne, and it usually had a few gators in it. Well they decided to get some gator tail, so they spotted two in the little canal, and started popping them with their .22's. after a while they were belly up. So they got into the water, and dragged them up, and under the fence, and into the pasture. Well they sent the younger one back to the house to get the camera. Well he came back, and they propped the bigger gator's mouth open with a stick, and were lying beside it, and having their pictures, taken with it, and sitting on it's back, etc. but........the one with it's mouth open with the stick, suddenly opened it's eyes! And then proceeded to chase my Friends around the field, all the while they were trying to shoot it with their 22 rifles, and seeing that wasn't working, nor the zig zag routine, they told the younger one to go back to the house and get the 8 mm! So after a few minutes of exciting exercise, the younger one gets back with the big rifle, and they finally are able to end the dodge the gator game. They were doing all kinds of evasive maneuvers, it was pretty much keeping up with them, it was just that there were more of them than the gator, that they were able to keep it busy, and confused. But keep you a big stick with you to divert it. Get out of there. I had a Friend of mine whose Father worked as a Photographer for Pratt and Whitney, and he told me of a guy from NY that was sent down to take some pictures, and he asked if it was true that there were some big gators out there, and he told him yes there are some big ones, and a lot small to medium ones. Well one day they are driving a big step van full of equipment to one of the engine testing sites, and there crossing the road in front of them, was about a ten or elven footer. Well the guy from NY goes nuts, and wants a picture of it. Well he gets out and starts taking pictures of it, and starts walking up closer to it. My Friends Fathers tells him not to get any closer, and the guy keeps going closer. Well the gator decides this guy would be tasty, so turns and comes after him!
The NY'er drops his camera and is hauling butt back to the step van, and leaps up onto the pedestal seat, and the Gator comes right behind him, from his side, out the other side! My Friends Father pulls up a bit, and asks the NY'er if he wants to get out and get his camera that was lying in the grass next to the road, and he replied he would get it on the way back!
Most of them won't bother you, but when they get BIG, they can be a problem. Yep we used to swim in the canals, and see them pop up now and then, but they were mostly 7 or 8 footers. If we saw a big one in the canal, we would go further down, and keep and eye out. We were frog hunting in a drainage canal that drained into a big canal, and we spotted some BIG red eyes, and got out of the water, and walked about fifty yards past, and got back in and went back to frog hunting. I wouldn't do that now. We have had a kid taken and killed by a big gator here in Port St. Lucie, and one in Jupiter. You just have to be aware of your surroundings, and what is in it.
Wayne
