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FLORIDA — Most of us will never come face-to-face with an alligator. But for folks in Florida, it can be a common experience.
Especially in places like Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Florida's largest state park. The park is home to deer, black bear, bobcats, raccoons, opossums, crocodiles and manatees. Even rare creatures like the Florida panther and Everglades mink are sometimes spotted.
But the gators are some of the most visible residents. As you can see in this video, they have no problem taking over the walkways.
Yikes. Even though these gators look mellow, I would never get so close. If they got agitated (or hungry), they could lunge at me in the blink of an eye.
How fast can alligators run on land? I've seen different sources peg the speed at anywhere from 11 mph to 35 mph. There's a big difference in those speeds, but even their slowest sounds too zippy for my comfort level.
Anyhow, I really appreciated this cyclist's approach. He didn't flee the scene and he didn't lash out at the gators. Instead, he remained impressively calm.
Have you seen this?
