You can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
You can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
You can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
But you can be happy if you've a mind to. ©Roger Miller
Crocodiles and Alligators
I lied. We don’t have crocodiles in the Southern US. Crocodiles are meaner and way more aggressive than alligators. They live in Africa, Asia, South America and Australia, and you don’t want to mess with them in any way shape or form. We only have alligators, which are way less aggressive, and more docile than crocodiles. You still don’t want to piss them off, or mess with a mother alligator who is protecting their nest and little ones, but by and large, if you leave them alone, they will leave you alone. If you are paddling your kayak or canoe, don’t aggressively get too close. Most of the time they are kind of lazy, and would much rather go after smaller prey, or fish that are already dead. Or raccoons that are washing their food on the bank of the water.
Considering that most alligators you will see are bigger than my kayaks or canoe, that is reassuring. We often paddle in areas where there are dozens of alligators, and nobody I know of has encountered one that attacked them. There is a report that someone was killed locally when they went swimming in a lake where an alligator had been reported, but that was also at a location where fishermen often cleaned their fish, and threw the fish guts back into the lake, so the alligator was used to thinking that humans meant the possibility of food. Seriously, we often paddle in waterways where there are dozens of alligators and get excited and take pictures of them.
Snapping Turtles
Snapping Turtles can grow to be about 4 feet across, and have a mean bite, but also tend to leave canoes and kayaks alone. I have mostly seen large ones when they have been caught on someone’s trotline and haven’t been able to escape. I usually try to cut the line and let them go.
Alligator Gar
We have plenty of Alligator gar in the bayous around Southeast Texas. They commonly grow to be 6 feet long, but occasionally grow to be 10 feet long and 300 pounds. They aren’t normally aggressive toward humans, but often hang out in the shallows and get startled when you run over them in your kayak, whereupon they roll over and jump. You’ve never really been startled until a ten-foot-long fish bangs into your boat and shows you its two-foot-long mouth filled with teeth. I’ve seriously never heard of anyone being attacked by an Alligator gar. They are reportedly good
eating. I wouldn’t know.
Feral Hogs
We’ve run into feral hogs occasionally, both at launch sites, and along the banks where we’ve been paddling. They are smart and dangerous, but I don’t think they can swim very well. I have heard a story of someone on a lake where a hog started swimming toward them, but unless it was startled, I don’t think it was actually attacking. They tend to try to avoid people, so make a lot of noise and they will probably run away.
Poisonous snakes
I covered poisonous snakes in a previous column. (tinyurl.com/28w2um77)
They are mostly afraid of you and looking for a place to hide or calmly hang out. Same same.
These are the biggest beasts we encounter around here, and most of them are nothing to worry about. Happy paddling!
See You On The Water!
Harmon