# A couple of gator pics -



## rip18 (Apr 13, 2005)

I was looking through some slides for a presentation, & came across a set I shot last May in a super, top-secret location.  With the recent threads on gator hunting, I thought I would post them.  These three pics were taken on the same day in a different place from where I shot the one in my avatar.

The first is an alligator aggregation that I happened upon.
The second is a little closer up view of the far end of the aggregation, remember how big water lily leaves are for scale...
The third is a close-up of a youngster's head.


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## Razorback (Apr 13, 2005)

Looks like a Gator season honey hole.  

So, whats got them congregrating like that?

Razorback


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## rip18 (Apr 13, 2005)

The water was dropping out of the flats where the lilypads were into the dredged canal.  The gar & bowfin (blackfish, grinnel, mudfish) were coming off the flat into the canal.  The canal goes up just beyond the gators & makes a hard right-hand turn.  So basically all the fish were pouring out of 1 1/2 feet of water into the 6-foot deep canal.  There were 73 gators in sight at one time, & the shortest one was a little under 5 feet long.  The gators don't usually gorm up like this unless there is a lot of food available.  These pictures were taken about 6 miles from the Suwannee Canal entrance inside the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.


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## Razorback (Apr 13, 2005)

Well it had to be either food or the oposite sex to get them gathered up like that.

Razor


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## bruceg (Apr 13, 2005)

Those are awesome pictures! I've get to get my kid down there, he'd go nuts over something like that. He got very excited seeing just one gator - I can't imagine what he'd do seeing 73!


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## 7Mag Hunter (Apr 13, 2005)

*Alligators*

You are INSANE...I would not go in there with a howitzer...Those things will
eat you !!!!
Seriously...Good Pics...Yor are the man !!!!
STAY IN THE BOAT!!!!!


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## red tail (Apr 13, 2005)

Those are some good pics. Little close for me.


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## pendy (Apr 13, 2005)

Thanks for sharing,nice pics. Looks like to many gators for me.


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## rip18 (Apr 14, 2005)

Thanks for the positive reinforcement guys (and gals too!).

Got a question - How come sometimes when I "manage attachments" the picture shows up as a link (as in the first three images in this case), & sometimes it shows up as a picture (as in this one)?

This was about a 5-footer that we had caught, sexed, tagged, & had just taken the tape off his mouth & released.  He wasn't a real happy camper.


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## beginnersluck (Apr 14, 2005)

it's the # of pics you post.  One pic...no link...more than one...you've got links to them.


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## jason308 (Apr 14, 2005)

What kind of zoom you got on that camera of yours? Or did you paddle up to them? They are awesome creatures and I hope my apprehension of them will change once I learn more about them.


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## rip18 (Apr 14, 2005)

Those were shot with a 70 to 200 mm.  We were actually poling up to a big bunch of great egrets & great blue herons, which were feeding on the little fish & invertebrates.  Most of the birds flushed, & it wasn't until the gators started moving away that we really realized what we were seeing.  We ended up staying in a very small area for over an hour, & the gators started doing "gator things."  I tried, & I tried, & I tried to catch one of them smashing a gar or bowfin on the top.  A largemouth bass don't got nothing on no gator!!! It was impressive.  

The close-up out of the first set was probably shot at less than 4 feet off the side of the boat.  My wife was taking pictures as well.  She was looking through the camera at one less than 2 feet from the boat, & did not realize how close she was bending.  I told her & told her to back up.  She was getting closer!  I finally physically pulled her back upright into the boat.  She was MAD at first...


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## James Vincent (Apr 15, 2005)

*close gator*

Rip, Two feet is a long ways, you got me way closer than that


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## Branchminnow (Apr 15, 2005)

Im glad all we have to deal with up here is a few timid bears Those are something else.
And hey james I love that avatar got me tickled.


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## bradpatt03 (Apr 15, 2005)

anyone wanna go skiin


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## rip18 (Apr 16, 2005)

There was a difference, James...

I got you way less than 2 feet, but you were ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, SCRAMBLING THE OTHER WAY!!!!  Guys, James is pretty quick at going from relaxed sitting to a rolling dive towards the other side of the boat.... 

My wife was inching CLOSER!


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