FGCU: The Negative Influence Of Gators On Campus

Florida Gulf Coast University is not only home to about 13,717 undergraduate college students but is also inhabited by wildlife. FGCU is approximately 740 acres and half of those acres are inhabited by wildlife like gators (FGCU the College Board). Alligators can be found in almost all bodies of water here on campus. Alligators, if you give them characteristic traits, would be actually considered shy creatures in a way. You know the old saying “they are more afraid of you then you are of them” perfectly describes gators. When calling a gator shy, all it implies is that they will flee from humans if one comes and approaches them. The only time Alligators lose respect and fear for humans is when they are being fed; They will associate humans

The lake that inhabits the gator is located right in front of SoVi dining. Sovi gators are some of the most dangerous gators here on campus due to the fact that students tend to toss in food over the rail, which tends to make the alligators associate the students as food. So then once they lose fear for the students they will come out looking for the students to feed them. No one should ever be feeding the wild life because not only is it dangerous, but it is illegal. This is one of the many ways students abuse their wildlife privileges here are FGCU which is sad. The reason this is sad is because once the alligator becomes a threat in any way shape or form FGCU has to take matters into their hands to see how they are going to deal with the gator. Should they kill it? Or maybe find it a new

From there on depending on the size of the gator UPD knows what actions to take. When the animal is under three feet it’s easy for UPD to move them back by either directing the small alligators back to the lake or any type of water by standing behind them forcing them to move. In other cases, when its 4 feet or over and UPD doesn’t know what to do or they don’t want to harm the animal they call an on campus expert which is one of the biology teachers here at FGCU, John Herman. Since Herman started working with UPD he has had more than 12 cases in the past three years about removing alligators. So when the alligators become a problem they are taken to a new location which can be the lake by the welcome center, the lake by the summit church, or the one by the solar field. Before Herman the UPD had to call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission but they don’t take alligator calls anymore so then UPD had to settle to trapping them and then calling a Trappers. Trappers kill the alligators (Krebs).

So much trouble goes into dealing with an alligator that’s why I strongly believe that we shouldn’t have gators living in the SoVi lake. What’s the point of constantly having to deal with this issue. We get rid of one gator and find it a new home and then we just put a new one in its place and then in a couple of months