loosening and freeing up all kinds of things we temporarily control. I think this disaster event portends a number of worse things to come for a species that thinks it can control the natural world. Unfortunate but inevitable just the same.

Breeding facilities and the homes of people who owned them (often illegally) were destroyed.

makes it a lot easier when you just have to build a chain link pen than when you have to put them in a building and control the temperature.
thousands were loosed by andrew.

Until after Andrew. It was like 08 before Florida's large snake regulations went through and the federal restrictions on importations came after that.

We also have a lot of animal sanctuaries that were hit. There was a need to prioritize reinforcing containment for large animals. I was helping with the Andrew aftermath on enclosures for bears, tigers, and a panther.

I think much of the exotic release during Andrew was due to importatiion facilities that were hit. Miami is a major importation hub for the U.S. even now.

Leave them alone and you will be fine. Florida is loaded with them and are rarely attacked. If they are, they are probably responsible to some degree.

Saltwater crocs would be a different story.

I don't pretend to know the circumstances involved but if these critters are habituated to human contact, once they get hungry it could present problems

He is worried about his income as his TV show was canceled years ago and no one goes to his restaurant there because it is way outside of town. For him this is publicity!!!

I sure hope they get those crocodiles confined.

They're 100% varmints once they're loose on the community in this situation. Tragic but true.

They've been there longer than the humans.

You could call the humans the invasive species, not them.

This is a tragedy for ALL the creatures in the area, not just the humans.

In fact, it could be argued that superstorms like this are partly BECAUSE of humans.

Compassion: it should extend to all.

How many people are killed by them, relative to other humans and the contraptions we make?

As I said, the gators are indigenous to the area. I don't hear of people in Houston being eaten on a daily basis, and the population in this animal park is a drop in the bucket compared to the ones "living wild" in the area. The danger is to THEM, not humans.

But don't let that stop you from standing outside their cage and shooting at them, tough guy.

visited too, besides down wires there were lots of water moccasins in the flooded yard.
I hope no rescued or rescuers get bit!

Then you'll understand that a few hundred alligators is a drop of water in the sea. They're really not a very large threat. Sorry to hear about these folks' misfortune, but don't be worried about having a few hundred escape. If you have to go in the water, be more concerned about water moccasins. They, unlike alligators, are extremely aggressive and their bite can be fatal.

that a lot of fire ants got drowned in Texas this last week. One of my friends got attacked by the little devils a few weeks ago here in SC, I hope someone finds a way to get rid of them eventually, they're an invasive species.

So if you are in the water and get close they climb on you and bite the crap out of you...

They are pure evil...just pure evil

I can't help a grudging admiration for that level of coordination and cooperation.

No wonder they're so tough to eradicate!

If I were religious, I would say that they were the spawn of the devil himself. I just moved to SC from NY, where we didn't have them, and I have learned from friends to fear them mightily.

This is one of those circumstances that I hope genetic engineering eventually screws them over.

If not, then I think we're better off with 350 less gators than one chomped child.

chomped by one in Houston?

The danger is to the animals, not the local human population.

in Disneyland.

I believe the alligator attack to which you are referring was in Orlando, Fla. at one of the numerous Disney resorts in the area.

One other thing to point out: the toddler was playing in a bayou where there was a "DANGER: NO SWIMMING" sign posted.

I spent a lot of my life on the West Coast where we referred to Disneyland much more than Disney World, but you got my point.

Yes, there was a sign, and his parents should have read it, but many people think that mega amusement parks are sanitized in such a way that bad things cannot possibly happen, and clearly, that is not the case.