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Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 12:39:29 -0500
To: cavers@ge*.co*.te*
From: techv19@po*.ne* (Christopher A. Brown)
Subject: gator action
Cc: techdiver@terra.net

A good way to, for safety's sake, distract 'gators:

Just before, during nesting, and for a while after hatching, the fem. gator
has a VERY strong instinct to protect the young. (Male gators and other
predators will munch 'em.) She will RUSH towards the sound of baby gator
chirps in a furious display.

Triggering actual behavior for filming purposes, being careful not to
stress the animal, is a commonly applied technique in wildlife filming, and
we did this while working on the National Geographic Special "Realm of the
Alligator",under the supervision of biologists. We needed to film inside a
gator nest, to show her eggs and those of turtles that are also deposited
there for protection.

We employed a boombox and a tape of baby gator chirps at a point well away
from her nest, playing it infrequently and judiciously so as not to stress
her, knowing that she would come to the sound to investigate. This allowed
us some time to approach the nest and set up lights and cam., to film the
eggs and show how the nest is constructed. When the sound stopped (we
stopped the tape), she would wander back to the nest, allowing us more good
shots of her protecting her (actual) brood.

Warning -- gators will charge the source of the sound as long as it's
playing -- and tho' they can't run far, some say they can run as fast as a
horse. It's quite a rush to see a 10 ft. gator up on all fours, boogying in
fury -- with you in mind.

Christopher A. Brown
The Technical Diving Video Library (TDVL)
TDVL Web Site:  http://www.neuro.fsu.edu/dave/docent.htm

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