I don't know about NC but the Gators in FL are starting to come into
breeding season and they get REAL cranky then. Gators use the heat from the
sun for body heat and will sleep on the bank after a heavy feed (the heat
helps them to digest). Doc (who relocated to NY State after hurricane
Charlie)
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"jeff" wrote in message
...
Rodney Long wrote:

jeff wrote:

alligator!!! this was a huge gator for nc...at least 8-10 feet (my
conservative guess...but, then i was hyperventilating a bit at the time)
nose to tail, very fat. he was snoozing in the sun...eyelids closed. i
was walking the bank, paying little attention to anything but the water,
trying to place casts close to the bank 10-15 feet in front of me.
suddenly, there was an unusual smell...it was so unusual that it caused
me to stop and look around. i thought there might be a dead
animal...then i saw it. about 20 feet in front of me. my jaw dropped,
and i ran as fast up the grassy bank as any geezer hoping not to wrestle
with a gator on an easter sunday. i've no experience with gators up
close and personal, so took these two photos and retreated. he never
moved. i don't think he even woke up...


Maybe the gator was dead, might explain the smell and it not moving

I can't remember ever smelling a gator that smelled like rotting meat


don't think so...one of his front legs was still wet. but, i don't know.
my first such encounter. it wasn't rotting meat...but a definite odor that
caught my attention.