Gathering of Gators: Mid-2012 List
Posted by: Loren Coleman on September 3rd, 2012

Photos: Courtesy of Van Buren County (Michigan) Sheriff’s Office
(1) September 1, 2012 – 3 ft long – Window well at a home, Mattawan, Michigan – Captured, placed in captivity – Origins unknown. Source.

(2) August 29, 2012 – 3 ft long – Near Lake Texoma, Platter, Oklahoma – Captured, relocated – Origins natural/unknown. Source.


Photos: Scott Engle / Montgomery County Police Reporter.
(3) August 27, 2012 – 4 ft long – Buddy Riley Boulevard, Magnolia*, Texas – Captured (by *Magnolia towing), released into remote area. – Origin probably natural. Source.


Photos: Robert Mills, Sun.
(4) August 25, 2012 – 2 ft long – Merrimack Canal, Lowell, Massachusetts – Captured, placed in captivity – Origins unknown. Source.

Photo: Ellen Butchart.
(5) Before August 24, 2012 – Two, Small – Rock River, Beloit, Wisconsin – Sighting, photographed – Origins unknown. Source.
(6) August 17, 2012 – 5-6 ft long – Sunbury Reservoir, Upper Augusta Township, Pennsylvania – State troopers shot and killed it – Origins unknown. Source, source.
(7) August 8, 2012 – ? ft long - West Street pond, Sharon, Massachusetts – Sighted – Origins unknown. Source.
(8) August 1, 2012 – 2.5 ft long – Shamrock Lake, Clare County, Michigan – Sighted – Origins unknown. Source.


(9) Early August 2012 – 3 ft + long – Monticello Pond, Bowser, Arkansas (*Magnolia media area) – Captured, relocated – Origins natural/unknown. Source.

(10) Early August 2012 – Large – Tillar, Arkansas – Captured, relocated to wilder area – Origins natural. Source.


(11) July 28, 2012 – 3 ft long – creek, Kingwood, New Jersey – Captured – Origins unknown. Source, source.
(12) July 23, 2012 – Turned out to be plastic – Meeting House Pond, Cohasset, Ohio – Found, debunked – Origins unknown. Source.
(13) June 16, 2012 – 2 ft long – Steven’s Pond, Manchester, New Hampshire – Captured – Origins unknown. Source.

(14) June 2012 – Large – Dermott, Arkansas – Captured, relocated to wilder area – Origins natural. Source.
(15) May 2012 – ? ft long – Steven’s Pond, Manchester, New Hampshire – Captured – Origins unknown. Source.
++++
Magnolia
*Interesting that the name “Magnolia” would be involved in two of these cases. Under Charles Fort, Wikipedia has this intriguing passage: “P.T. Anderson‘s popular movie Magnolia (1999) has an underlying theme of unexplained events, taken from the 1920s and ’30s works of Charles Fort. Fortean author Loren Coleman has written a chapter about this motion picture, entitled ‘The Teleporting Animals and Magnolia.’ in one of his recent books [Mysterious America]. The film has many hidden Fortean themes, notably ‘falling frogs.’ In one scene, one of Fort’s books is visible on a table in a library and there is an end credit thanking him by name.”


When they are babies people capture them all the time here in Florida. They are not as aggressive as people think they are. They ignore people and people ignore them. In the Tampa Bay area they are in the Park lakes and no one is hurt. The babies sometimes are left behind by mothers. Or a Mother is removed who laid some eggs in tunnels of the sewer systems around here. babies hatch out and people capture. What can I say people are dumb. Babies are easy to transport since they are very small. Little do these people know that cute little Lizard eats a lot and ends up getting huge. And what is next is death cause some idiot thinks it is cool to let them go at parks across the country. They know how to survive. They go below where it is humid moist and can eat rats of all sizes. Stick to leopard geckos and Crested Geckos leave Gators alone. Old saying here in Florida (no molest the gators). Lol