A few weeks ago my son and I decided to try out a new boat launch down on Merritt Island. We put in at the Biolab boat ramp, which has a good size parking lot and one small ramp. The trouble was that the ramp is in shallow water, with a marked access out to the Lagoon which was also shallow with lots of grass.
Travel Through the Canal
We put the boat in, to begin our boating day, on the East side of Mosquito Lagoon. Then traveled north and east through the Haulover Canal. Boat ramps charge $10 on Merritt Island. I have yet to see a really good boat ramp in the area.
It was a beautiful day as we started out and we were looking for some of the Spoil Islands. That is not marked on my map. We headed further south and then backtracked to the railroad bridge. Our deserted island quest fizzled out, for various reasons, at the railroad bridge we veered right and stopped at a beach. This was a shallow area, so I walked in the knee-high water looking for shells while my son went a bit offshore to fish.
My goal was to find some living sea snails, and maybe even a cool empty seashell. I had my iPhone and did find some nice shells.
As I walked over toward, what looked like, a dark water hole (called Roach Hole on a map), I saw a skull (photo below). As I was getting this photo, I wondered what type of animal it could be.
I continued shuffling through the shallow water, which was murky as the depth increased, in search of seashells. The bottom was muddy and this was obviously a place where few people ever ventured.
The only excuse I can make for my complete ignorance of the fact that alligators lived there is that I have never beach-combed in this area… but… it is part of the Intracoastal Waterway system where I usually beach comb. Except, usually we are far north of the Lagoon area, where I have never seen a gator, nor have I ever heard of one being spotted.
Alligators are known to live around the Kennedy Space Center, Mosquito Lagoon waters, which is where we were, but on the west side. ……. I simply forgot about that. This water is not as salty as the water in the northern Indian River. To the North, ocean tides move the water level, whereas the Lagoon water level does not move according to the tides. I believe that gators prefer less salty water, which would explain this.
Water was flowing toward me out of that dark blue lagoon. In fact, it was looked more black than blue.
Alligators Are The Creepiest of Florida’s Wildlife
It wasn’t until later when I began reviewing my photos and saw that skull photo again that I realized I had been strolling casually through water that most likely held gators. You don’t have to see them to know they are there. Alligators will sit on the murky water bottom and wait for their next meal to come along. When they bite, they mean business. They will drag their prey underwater and roll until it drowns.
The recent story of the woman who died after a gator pulled her into the water is the type of thing I think about whenever I am near fresh water in Florida. As the story says, it’s rare, but I can recall many such stories over the years. They mainly target small prey such as children and dogs that are near the edge of the water. Or bite when swimmers invade their territory.
Nearly every bit of freshwater in Florida contains alligators. My son and I just saw a small one alongside the highway, Route 528, on our way home from the airport. We’ve had a lot of rain so the ditches were full. Although Florida is mainly a swamp, I would not purposely live near any freshwater pond or lake. And I would never swim in one, except for the springs, which are clear.
Alligator facts you should know: They are fast. They may sit still on riverbanks and look lazy and complacent, but they can move when they decide to. Once a gator chomps down on something he is not willing to let go. They migrate on land and in water. They mostly attack in and around water, but can be encountered anywhere.
