ORLANDO, FL – With the fatal alligator attack on two-year-old Lane Graves at Disney World, many people are now asking just how common alligators are in the park?
There are many alligators at Disney. A quick search of YouTube shows many videos of gators seen in the park, including this 2009 video of a Disney employee using a type of pole to keep an alligator away from park-goers right near the popular Splash Mountain Ride:
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The employee pokes the gator with a pole in an attempt to force it back into the water. But that doesn’t really discourage the animal, who seems determined to come out of the water. Some people saw what was going on and were amused. One tourist even threw popcorn at the gator for a snack.
He says he recommended a “fence… be erected to protect guests.” but he claims his warnings fell on deaf ears.
Wildlife experts agree that the biggest problems with the reptiles comes when humans try to feed them. In fact, feeding alligators is against the law in Florida.
