# 2 Alligators in Summit Lake



## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

2 Alligators were spotted in Summit Lake over the weekend. 1 caught was 3ft long, while the other, a much larger one wasn't. Not the first or last time for them in that lake. Check Facebook for details.


----------



## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

interesting. I remember when a guy caught a body in there.


----------



## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Ghetto Pets along with Pythons, Lizards and other Reptiles.


----------



## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

Damn why do stupid people think that letting these pets go is ok. I think maybe the first question should be why the hell would you want a pet alligator


----------



## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

Sometimes gators show up here in lakes some distance from our coast, where they are native. One was caught in Jordan Lake a few years ago, near Raleigh. Another was captured in Shearon Harris Lake, near Sanford.


----------



## berkshirepresident (Jul 24, 2013)

Releasing reptiles like this is wrong for SO many reasons, but how do people expect them to survive the Winter?


----------



## legendaryyaj (Nov 1, 2005)

There's a warm water discharge up the canal that is warm enough to not freeze over winter. That could possibly be warm enough to keep them alive.


----------



## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

berkshirepresident said:


> Releasing reptiles like this is wrong for SO many reasons, but how do people expect them to survive the Winter?





legendaryyaj said:


> There's a warm water discharge up the canal that is warm enough to not freeze over winter. That could possibly be warm enough to keep them alive.


I've wondered if large reptiles like gators could survive one of our Winters. Frogs bury themselves in the mud and go into suspended animation to get by. Don't know if the same option is available to something larger.


----------



## Bassin' Fool (Jul 29, 2010)

Please forgive my ignorance if I'm wrong, but if it's the same article some of my Facebook friends are sharing, the date on it says 2010. In fact I do remember that very story being all over the news when it happened, and I believe a couple more gators were caught a few years prior to the one in the article as well.

That being said, I personally don't believe alligators could permanently thrive in Ohio due mostly in part to habitat constraints, rather than temperature. However, it seems plausible for one to survive the winter if a warm water discharge is nearby. As you probably already know, alligators are ectothermic (aka cold-blooded) organisms that use the environment to help regulate body temperature as opposed to endothermic (or warm-blooded) animals, like ourselves, that use metabolic heat for thermoregulation. Of course they are most active when air/water temps reach the 80-90 degree range, but studies have shown they can survive temperatures down to about 50 degrees, in which they enter a very low metabolic state, kind of like what frogs do during the winter. I suppose it's possible for them to build a den in the mud and lay dormant all winter until springtime, but probably unlikely. But stranger things have happened, it would be an interesting experiment for sure!!


----------



## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

One was shot & killed in Lake Rockwell by the ODNR a few years ago. It was 6ft long. It was sent to a local taxidermist. It is now shown in the front entrance of Akron Water Supply Main Office Bldg in Kent.


----------



## nixmkt (Mar 4, 2008)

icebucketjohn said:


> One was shot & killed in Lake Rockwell by the ODNR a few years ago. It was 6ft long. It was sent to a local taxidermist. It is now shown in the front entrance of Akron Water Supply Main Office Bldg in Kent.



Publicity about that probably would tend to keep folks out of Lake Rockwell.


----------



## Buick Riviera (Jul 15, 2007)

Deja vu all over again. First published 2007: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2007/07/akron_teen_reels_in_an_alligat.html


----------



## kapposgd (Apr 10, 2012)

Just imagine the look on somebody's face if they were attacked by a gator while wading in summit lake


----------



## fishingful (Apr 5, 2004)

kapposgd said:


> Just imagine the look on somebody's face if they were attacked by a gator while wading in summit lake


*****Just imagine the look on somebody's face if they were wading in summit lake....... Fixed*****lol


----------



## polebender (Oct 29, 2011)

An alligator was spotted in Buckeye Lake about a month ago! Hasn't been caught yet. A few months ago 1basshunter caught a South American catfish from there that was about 2 ft long. It must be common practice to release unwanted tropical fish and reptiles into our lakes.

Crikey!!!


----------



## Bassin' Fool (Jul 29, 2010)

fishingful said:


> *****Just imagine the look on somebody's face if they were wading in summit lake....... Fixed*****lol


Is that before or after their legs start glowing and they grow extra toes?


----------

