The Florida Alligator Rules Apply in South Carolina, Too

Over a year ago, I responded to an email from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission about "living with alligators".  One of those laws (from the FWC) was "if you see an alligator keep your distance."  A recent death in South Carolina shows those rules apply there as well.

Cynthia Covert, 58, came to Kiawah Island, a gated community southeast of Charleston, to give the homeowner a manicure Friday.  The homeowner reported that while Ms. Covert was "professional in her salon," but was relaxed and excited at the home, talking about her boyfriend’s visit from Tennessee, and brought a glass of wine with her.  Uh oh.  Alcohol is not usually a good sign in stories like this.

Covert saw the alligator while working on the woman’s porch and when Covert finished she started taking pictures of the alligator, the woman told deputies.

The woman and her husband started screaming for Covert to get away from the alligator because they saw it grab a deer a few days earlier, deputies said.

Covert said “I don’t look like a deer” and reached to touch the alligator when the animal attacked, according to the report.

The husband and a neighbor grabbed a rope and threw it to Covert when she surfaced and stood in the pond. Covert grabbed the rope and said “I guess I wont do this again,” but was suddenly pulled under by the alligator, the police report said.

Her official cause of death was not Covid-19 the alligator's bite injuries (one of her legs was badly mauled) but drowning.  This is how alligators attack; they'll grab a leg and spin.  Worst case (to the gator) is they rip off the leg and get that to eat.  Most of the time they drown the animal and eat the whole thing.

I don't think alligators fall into the "cute and cuddly" category from Disney/Bambi, I just think it's total ignorance of the reality of nature.  She thought it was neat and unusual enough to take pictures of.  Ms. Covert won't be around to learn from her mistake, though.  I don't want to make fun of her, but sometimes a person only gets one chance to not make the mistake.

Another great Robert A. Heinlein quote comes to mind, or a portion of it.  It's from the Notebooks of Lazarus Long.  Heinlein wrote this in the context of space flight and exploration (if I remember the book correctly!) but it applies whenever we interact with nature. 

... stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.

Remember, folks, the alligator has the right of way.  You let go where it wants and leave it the f*** alone.  You get out of its way.  You don't try to feed it, unless you want to be known as "stumpy" for the rest of your life, or "the late..."  There's more at the March '19 post.