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View Full Version : Are there alligators in the Rio Grande area



MOP
01-03-2010, 01:12 PM
I joined up to help the US/Mex border via live feed, I was watching one cma just now and could swear I thought I saw an alligator swimming by! Anyone that want to help watch the border check in at the site below.

http://blueservo.net/vcw.php

Fluffy Foo-Foo
01-03-2010, 01:18 PM
Its a disguise! Alert Homeland Security right away.:wink:

txtaz
01-04-2010, 05:49 PM
Believe it or not, we used to ski on the Aransas River and there were Alligators. I was freaked at first but then learned they dive as you come skiing by so they didn't bother us. But it was weird.

silverghost
01-04-2010, 11:26 PM
There could be gators almost anywhere today ~
They found a 4' gator in a local PA lake this last Summer.
Seems it was a released former pet that just got too darn big for the former owner's bathroom & bathtub !

LKSD
01-05-2010, 07:53 AM
Thats pretty wild, but it seems that a lot of animals are now being found where they werent ever thought to be or possibly go before.. Like sharks in the St lawerence & Great lakes.! :shocking:

BUIZILLA
01-05-2010, 07:58 AM
sharks in fresh water?

MOP
01-05-2010, 08:00 AM
Is someone pulling the chain???????????????????????????

LKSD
01-05-2010, 08:18 AM
Yes, as weird as it may sound.. There have been several show on animal planet & discovery about it. Some of them were as big as great whites that were found in the St Lawrence up as far as the 100 islands! There was a special on where divers found them swimming fairly close to the docks & in less than 20' of water at night.. Now I'm not saying there were a lot of them but there were enough that they have found them several times. The ones they found in the great lakes they think may have swam up the Mississippi, but are not sure as there were some scientists that felt they may have always been there just unnoticed. They also from what I remember were supposedly so far found to be under 100 lbs.. Strange but true.. ;) J

boxy
01-05-2010, 08:33 AM
Yes, as weird as it may sound.. There have been several show on animal planet & discovery about it. Some of them were as big as great whites that were found in the St Lawrence up as far as the 100 islands! There was a special on where divers found them swimming fairly close to the docks & in less than 20' of water at night.. Now I'm not saying there were a lot of them but there were enough that they have found them several times. The ones they found in the great lakes they think may have swam up the Mississippi, but are not sure as there were some scientists that felt they may have always been there just unnoticed. They also from what I remember were supposedly so far found to be under 100 lbs.. Strange but true.. ;) J
How the hell did the "sharks" get through the lock system to get to the 1000 Islands....... Been here all my life Jamie, to my knowledge it has never happened. The mouth of the St.Lawrence maybe, but not 1200 Kms upstream.....

Oh wait, I just found the article you were referring to, my bad.....

Concerned about the influx of zebra mussels and other undesirable aquatic life forms in the St. Lawrence River and the Seaway, the Federal Research And Underwriting Directorate (FRAUD), a newly formed environmental agency, will plant bull sharks in local St. Lawrence River waters in an effort to eradicate nuisance fish and pests.

The sharks, which grow up to 10 feet and 400 pounds, will be captured in Nicaragua and released on April 1, 1996 in the Lake St. Francis vicinity of the St. Lawrence River, where it is hoped they will migrate up river towards Lake Ontario to eat zebra mussels, lamprey eels, carp and other nonessential fish.

Dr. Fuller Bull, head of the FRAUD shark project, said, "We were very discouraged about the rapid growth of these unwanted species and were searching for a simple solution When one of our scientists said, 'What we need is a natural predator that comes from the ocean like these nuisance fish once did.' It was then that the shark idea struck me, and it was so simple I almost fell off my chair!"

Bull sharks are common in Lake Nicaragua and it was long thought that they were a landlocked shark subspecies that had evolved to live in fresh water. But, the scientific community discovered that they routinely move between the lake and the ocean via a connecting river and are equally at home in both fresh water and salt water environments.

The sharks, which do not have a reputation for aggressiveness, may, at times, attack people, but generally only when in fresh water. Scientists think that's because they find it harder to locate food in those surroundings.

"That's an overstatement, as the sharks kill fewer than 200 people a year in Lake Nicaragua," said Dr. I M. Lye Ing of Thailand, a shark expert from the Military and Naval University Research Exchange .(MANURE).

"We don't expect anywhere near that number in the St. Lawrence River. I think bull sharks in the river basin wouldn't eat more than 40 people a year, maybe 50, tops. And, since most of the locals don't often venture into the water because it's too damn cold, you have to figure most will be tourists from down state or New York City area anyway.
"I bet the sharks won't get more than 5 to 1 0 north country residents on an annual basis."
The shark experiment has caught the eye of Sweden's Dr. Per Varicator, chief of the Bovine Unified Locator Laboratory (BULL), that is studying the Adirondack Park moose herd.

Dr. Varicator said that the state has not been able to bring down the number of moose to a manageable size within the park area, which now has 400 more animals than desired. He thinks he has a solution to the problem that would be much more reliable than the dependence on winter kill.

"Siberian tigers," he said. "Think about it. The Siberian tiger is one of the rarest animals in the world. It is also highly adapted to the kind of cold winters we have in the Adirondack Park. Here's an opportunity to help save an endangered animal while solving a growing problem for the state.

"We plan to introduce 10 pairs of tigers, which should keep the moose herd in check. From what we've learned in northern India, each tiger eats about one water buffalo a month, or its equivalent in villagers. The average water buffalo goes about 600 pounds for females, maybe 900 pounds for males, so we figure that the rough exchange in the park area kill be 4 to 6 people per moose."

"I received a call from a lady who was really worried about the idea of introducing tigers. I can appreciate her concern, but I told her she need not to worry. Even if it takes months for the tigers to learn how to hunt moose, there will always be more than enough transient Canadians in the area to feed all 10 breeding pairs until they figure it out. Besides, just imagine the interesting new element that will be added to archery hunting inside the Adirondack Park!'
:nilly::nilly::nilly:

MOP
01-05-2010, 08:39 AM
Steve read Jamie's post again the sharks only made it up to the 100 Islands, 900 Islands short of you!!!

BUIZILLA
01-05-2010, 08:48 AM
"That's an overstatement, as the sharks kill fewer than 200 people a year in Lake Nicaragua," said Dr. I M. Lye Ing of Thailand, a shark expert from the Military and Naval University Research Exchange .(MANURE).

"We don't expect anywhere near that number in the St. Lawrence River. I think bull sharks in the river basin wouldn't eat more than 40 people a year, maybe 50, tops. And, since most of the locals don't often venture into the water because it's too damn cold, you have to figure most will be tourists from down state or New York City area anyway.
"I bet the sharks won't get more than 5 to 10 north country residents on an annual basis."
:nilly::nilly::nilly: I can see this was a well thought out experiment.. :boggled:

Jraysray
01-05-2010, 10:42 AM
I have always understood the Bull shark to be more aggresive than not. I know they can live in either salt or fresh water. I have heard many stories about how aggresive they are.

Read this:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/11/images/xlarge/Sports_sp_2cma_1607194.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/11/Gulfandbay/New_depths_for_shark_.shtml&usg=__uKsbT4JiXOMIN9TjokIrfZQVF48=&h=292&w=450&sz=51&hl=en&start=11&um=1&tbnid=3dt5ftrMiRP2eM:&tbnh=82&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbull%2Bshark%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1W1ADF A_en%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

Walt. H.
01-05-2010, 11:42 AM
Dang!
How'd did this post go from alligators to bull sharks.:confused::bonk:

LKSD
01-05-2010, 01:02 PM
Actually I wasnt referring to an article. I was referring to the show on either Natl Geo or discovery about them.. Not to say that there wasnt articles, but that wasnt where I heard about them. Also I think they called them green sharks (the ones in the St Lawrence) ? But Im not sure, it was on a couple weeks ago late at night.. ;) Jamie

thehow33
01-05-2010, 03:48 PM
Bull sharks have been found hundreds of miles up the mississippi and in certain rivers off of the east coast. The reason why is they will give birth in the mississippi where they have very few predators. They will stay in the river for a couple of years and then out to the gulf.

Cuda
01-05-2010, 04:18 PM
Bull sharks are in the rivers that empty into Tampa Bay.