RutnNStrutn
10-24-2007, 12:13 PM
I was out scouting yesterday at a WMA that I have an upcoming hunt on, and went down to check out a cypress pond. When I approached the pond I heard the unmistakable sound of baby gators calling to their mother. If you've heard the sound, you'll never forget it. If you've never heard it, here's a link to the sound.
http://www.sound-effect.com/sounds1/animal/baligator2.wav
I slowly eased up to the pond, being careful because there was high grass around it, and it blocked my view of the shoreline where mama might have been waiting. I made my way down to the shore and spotted several baby gators swimming around. Looking around for mama, I instead found the nest where they had been hatched. How cool is that? I've never found one in the wild like that before. I've seen them from my jon boat with mama on guard, and I've seen babies in the water with mama, but I've never found a hidden away nest like this one.
While I was admiring the nest and taking pictures, a big splash in the water on the far side of the pond got my attention rather abruptly. :laughing3 I guess mama had made her entrance in response to the incessant calling of her babies. I finished taking pictures and backed out of there. What a cool interlude to my scouting that was.
I've included some pics. The first one is of some egg shells.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/RutnNStrutn/GatorEggs1.jpg
The second is of the nest.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/RutnNStrutn/GatorNest1.jpg
The third is of the nest with the pond in the background.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/RutnNStrutn/GatorPond1.jpg
The last one is of the far shoreline of the pond. If you look close, you can see mama with just the top of her head sticking out of the water, and just beyond that you will see the striped tail of one of her babies up in the vegetation.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/RutnNStrutn/Gators-mombaby1.jpg
http://www.sound-effect.com/sounds1/animal/baligator2.wav
I slowly eased up to the pond, being careful because there was high grass around it, and it blocked my view of the shoreline where mama might have been waiting. I made my way down to the shore and spotted several baby gators swimming around. Looking around for mama, I instead found the nest where they had been hatched. How cool is that? I've never found one in the wild like that before. I've seen them from my jon boat with mama on guard, and I've seen babies in the water with mama, but I've never found a hidden away nest like this one.
While I was admiring the nest and taking pictures, a big splash in the water on the far side of the pond got my attention rather abruptly. :laughing3 I guess mama had made her entrance in response to the incessant calling of her babies. I finished taking pictures and backed out of there. What a cool interlude to my scouting that was.
I've included some pics. The first one is of some egg shells.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/RutnNStrutn/GatorEggs1.jpg
The second is of the nest.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/RutnNStrutn/GatorNest1.jpg
The third is of the nest with the pond in the background.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/RutnNStrutn/GatorPond1.jpg
The last one is of the far shoreline of the pond. If you look close, you can see mama with just the top of her head sticking out of the water, and just beyond that you will see the striped tail of one of her babies up in the vegetation.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/RutnNStrutn/Gators-mombaby1.jpg