Just Googled the story. Not far from here. As scary as that was for the girl and her family, they sounded like local people and should have known better. It is mating season! The male gators are horny and mean and the females, many of which have already laid eggs, are territorial and focused on protecting their young. The article said the gator was female and there was a nearby nest. How she reacted to the girl is perfectly understandable. No one should be on a raft in Florida waters during gator mating season! A substantial boat, yes — a raft, no.

I am relieved and glad the girl is fine and that she thought quickly and made a good decision to climb the tree. I am, however, sad about the gator. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. But, as long as humans insist on crowding animals in their natural spaces, the humans will almost always win and the animals will lose.

A few years back, a young guy took a swim in a river that is plastered with signs warning about gators. In fact, he entered the water right next to one of those signs. A gator bit off his arm. The stupid guy lived and wildlife management killed the gator. I was so furious, I wrote a letter to the editor of our paper. Tell me, who deserved to live — the moronic guy or the gator?