New resident at Peacock Springs - July 2010

[Rubis]

Well I dove there with the last gator. Let's go diving.
Funny how the divers' attitudes changed last time, when the gator lost it's fear and started coming closer to them.

Do we all agree the state will assume the legal risks for letting divers dives in poor viz water with a gator in it?
We got away with it the last gator.

Do you mean it's actually the divers' attitude that got Bonnet closed ?

[Chance06]

Bill told me that story. Almost pee'd myself, so funny!

I seem to recall a Bill Rennaker story about him trying to shoo a small gator off his favorite deco spot. Bill won the first round, but in the long run, he ended up finding another place to do his deco.

[LiteHedded]

i heard bill's story, dove the same cave, had a gator next to me on deco and did NOT shoo him away. thanks to bill for showing us what not to do lol

[TONY CHANEY]

I never really think too much about them while cave diving. Now, the Cooper River S.C. is another story. You should ask Artic Mike about the cotton mouth with him in the Cooper...damn scary stuff.

[gasdiver]

I never really think too much about them while cave diving. Now, the Cooper River S.C. is another story. You should ask Artic Mike about the cotton mouth with him in the Cooper...damn scary stuff.

Bumping into one of those huge mud balls in the Cooper river is scary enough. Picture this: diving solo, 3' of vis, going downstream feet first in a 3-4 knot current, light in one hand and drag weight in the other, you bump into something soft and squishy that moves. The first time it happened to me I almost soiled my wet suit. It turned out to be an underwater tumbleweed -- a mud ball about 4' in diameter that rolls on the bottom with the current and gets bigger as it picks up more mud. The first thing that crossed my mind when I encountered my first mud ball was 'dead body'!

I've heard of gators in the Cooper river, but I never saw one there.

[vinegarbiscuit]

So... let me get this straight- cave divers are all about "conservation" and "preservation" as long as it only applies to rocks, mud and water. But when it comes to a contest between cave divers getting to dive in a particular site vs. relocating (or as one poster has suggested) exterminating the native wildlife, the cave divers want their access, wildlife be damned. Have I got that right? Because that sure is what it sounds like from perusing this thread.

No, you most certainly do not have that right. I'm sorry you got that impression.

[harmstrong]

No, you most certainly do not have that right. I'm sorry you got that impression.

Thanks. After 15 years of being heavily involved with Cave Diving I didn't think I did. I tend to be heavy on the sarcasm .

[Puttzer]

Dear me, yes, we must invoke the "children" when we extoll the virtues of the Nanny State.... It's obviously quite impossible for people to observe or interact with wildlife anywhere other than a zoo, where they are protected from potentially dangerous creatures!

By your logic we should remove every potentially dangerous creature from the face of the earth and lock it up where it can be safely observed.

We have an abundance of alligators in Florida if not a great surplus.
One need not go to a public swimming hole to find them. They are a common sight.
In the area of the Suwannee river that I live, most any morning I can find a gator sunning itself every mile or two.

The state will undoubtedly eventually remove the gator or close the spring.
We have all seen PSSP with near zero visibility in the basin : too much liability.

[mag3]

We have an abundance of alligators in Florida if not a great surplus.
One need not go to a public swimming hole to find them. They are a common sight.
In the area of the Suwannee river that I live, most any morning I can find a gator sunning itself every mile or two.

The state will undoubtedly eventually remove the gator or close the spring.
We have all seen PSSP with near zero visibility in the basin : too much liability.

I vote "relocation" over "closure." P1 is one of the few low flow springs in the area that newbie divers have available for practice and refinement of skills. It would be sinful to close it simply due to the presence of a gator when it could be successfully relocated elsewhere.

[SuPrBuGmAn]

It was also convenient to the whiteys to relocate the injuns.