Tourist video captured gator-feeding frolic

[jimnyc]

I'm all for mingling with wildlife at times, when possible.... but feeding a damn gator, a marshmallow - out of your damn mouth? LOL

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LAFITTE, La. (AP) — Gasps can be heard by tourists on a swamp boat tour in south Louisiana as their guide jumps in the water to feed chicken and marshmallows to two alligators. At one point the guide puts a marshmallow in his mouth and lets one of the gators snatch it away.

The scene was captured on video by Stacy Hicks of St. Helens, Oregon, who visited the area in May.

"When he jumped in I was a little scared, more for him than us though," Hicks said. "I am surprised at the attention this video has gotten. I just thought that this was a thing that happens all the time on the tours."

The video has been shared more than 100,000 times on Facebook.

It also has attracted attention of local and state wildlife officials.

There is no state law prohibiting luring and feeding of alligators, but it's against local law in Jefferson Parish, where the Airboat Adventures tour company is based.

http://news.yahoo.com/tourist-video-captured-gator-feeding-frolic-200316567.html

[Gaffer]

Where is the "I want one" statement usually accompanying your animal posts? :poke:

[jimnyc]

Where is the "I want one" statement usually accompanying your animal posts? :poke:

Oh, hell no. They don't rank as bad as spiders, but not far off. Unless it was like a 6-10 inch baby, that would forever stay that way, now that would be cool. Just big enough to make bite my friends, but not big enough to do much damage! :)

[Jeff]

Where is the "I want one" statement usually accompanying your animal posts? :poke:

I want one :laugh: I actually had one for a short bit while living in SC, it was only a foot or so long, we let it go in my buddies pond and the last I saw it he was like 5' long. My buddy was waiting for it to get long enough to eat :laugh: yes Gator tail is fantastic but seriously he had fallen in love with it so I doubt he ever did kill it. He also had a pen ( steel rods hammered a few feet into the ground ) that he kept hogs in ( not a regular pig ) but wild boars, the first one he got was his favorite (Suwee) he caught while Hog hunting and planned on growing it out and eating it, that never happened, last I seen he had about 10 and was using them for his hunting guide business, he used to get people that would pay upwards of $1500 to kill a Hog, the worst part was he wouldn't feed the for a day or so and he had a area where we hunted fenced off ( about a acre, we had over 1000 acres to hunt ) he would put a corn pile 50 yards from the hunter and then once the hunter was seated ( and him with him) I would release the hog from a trailer into the lot, of course the hog was hungry so it would go directly to the pile as my buddy made like he was calling them in and the guy would shoot it, after all the pictures and congrats were done he would be paid his money and we butchered the hog ( these guys very rarely even wanted the meat )so we wound up with meat and cash :laugh:

[gabosaurus]

I have never seen an alligator. But I have seen crocodiles (in Australia) and you don't want to mess with them under any circumstances.

[jafar00]

I have never seen an alligator. But I have seen crocodiles (in Australia) and you don't want to mess with them under any circumstances.

They have a great Reptile Park near Sydney where they actually breed Alligators. There is a pond full of them!

[gabosaurus]

They have a great Reptile Park near Sydney where they actually breed Alligators. There is a pond full of them!

I've only been to the wildlife sanctuary outside Melbourne.