Knock Knock - Who's There? Alligator

American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) have a selection of winning variation to their ecological place that has permitted the crocodilian to remain roughly unchanged for 200 million years. The early Spanish explorers to Florida called the alligator el lagarto – the lizard, which evolved into alligator. Nowadays the reptile is simply called gator.

Alligators are also native to China. American alligators are established in the southeast United States, which includes all of Florida and Louisiana, the southern parts of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, Eastern Texas, coastal South and North Carolina, the southeast corner of Oklahoma and the southern tip of Arkansas. The preponderance of American alligators populates Florida and Louisiana, with over a million alligators in each state. This is understandable since alligators live in freshwater setting such as everglades in addition to ponds, marshes, wetlands, rivers, and lakes, which is the environment of both states. There are crocodiles living with alligators in Southern Florida. The biggest hazard to the American alligator is man and the invasive Burmese pythons – pets let loose in the conservation areas and Everglades.

Can you envision the terror and dread when someone looks through the peephole of their front door, only to find a six-foot alligator waiting to come in? Most often it’s the alligator that knocks on the door. It was a sunny day in June 2006 when a gator came knocking on Penny Creek Drive in Bluffton, South Carolina. A six foot male alligator came knocking on the door, perhaps looking for a girlfriend. It was all preserved on film by amateur photographer Richard Holinski.

A Tampa, FL woman arrived home in April 2008, and a short time later heard noises in the kitchen. Most people would have thought - break in! Well it was a break in. An 8 foot alligator was sliding around Sandra Frosti’s floor. Scratches from the creature's claws were left in Frosti's floor. Wildlife trappers thought the gator enter the house though a door left open between the living room and porch. The alligator just pushed through the screen door. The gator crossed the living room and walk downs the hallway to get to the kitchen.

It was October 2010 the 26^th. Not yet Halloween and too early in the morning for visitors. Jose Roca heard a knock on the door. Roca lives in Tampa, Florida where he came face to face with a alligator. It was 4:21 AM in the morning. The gator measured 7 feet. The gator may have been looking for the family dogs to invite to dinner. Too bad for the gator which probably ended up as a meal. It seems if a trapped gator is recycled for meat and hide if it’s more than 4 feet long.

Gators go door to door in Bonita Spring, FL a 8 foot alligator apparently followed Lori Pachelli and her dog home. The gator knocked and when Pachelli would not let it in, the gator tried to break down the door. After getting a bloody lip for its trouble, the gator went back in the water. It was later trapped.

Just had to end this with a gator joke. They are not easy to find either! No knock, knock jokes...

A CEO throwing a party takes his executives on a tour of his opulent mansion. In the back of the property, the CEO has the largest swimming pool any of them has ever seen. The huge pool, however, is filled with hungry alligators. The CEO says to his executives "I think an executive should be measured by courage. Courage is what made me CEO. So this is my challenge to each of you: if anyone has enough courage to dive into the pool, swim through those alligators, and make it to the other side, I will give that person anything they desire. My job, my money, my house, anything!"

Everyone laughs at the outrageous offer and proceeds to follow the CEO on the tour of the estate. Suddenly, they hear a loud splash. Everyone turns around and sees the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) in the pool, swimming for his life. He dodges the alligators left and right and makes it to the edge of the pool with seconds to spare. He pulls himself out just as a huge alligator snaps at his shoes.

The flabbergasted CEO approaches the CFO and says, "You are amazing. I've never seen anything like it in my life. You are brave beyond measure and anything I own is yours. Tell me what I can do for you." The CFO, panting for breath, looks up and says, "You can tell me who the hell pushed me in the pool!!"