Front page news from last week in Naples, FL: Golfers at Wyndemere private golf club are complaining that ‘aggressive’ squirrels approach them at the tee. (1) Aggressive squirrels? Aggressive means ‘likely to attack, pursuing one’s aims forcibly.’ That conjures up images of giant fluffy-tailed attack squirrels, possibly with weapons, yelling in squirrel, “some peanuts or your life!”
Aggressive Squirrel - AtticSolutions.com
The story finally identifies ‘aggressive’ in the 10th paragraph: the squirrels gather around the tee boxes hoping for food handouts Apparently some golfers feed the squirrels so the squirrels approach other golfers wanting food.
I picture a 150 lb golfer, holding a golf club (i.e., a potential weapon) cowering and running in fright when a few one-pound squirrels approach him for handouts. I’m not sure I’d call a squirrel begging for handouts aggressive unless he crawls up your leg and bites you. Are the golfers fearing for their life, or just annoyed that the squirrels delay their tee-off?
The golfers want the squirrels relocated. The article defends the squirrels saying relocation could be harmful to the squirrels and suggests they just teach the other members to stop feeding the squirrels. Duh! Didn’t we learn decades ago “Don’t feed the animals?” Maybe they should just stop selling peanuts at the clubhouse.
According to Discover magazine, golfers calling the squirrels aggressive aren't considering the situation from the squirrel's perspective. (2) Maybe squirrels think the golfers are the ones acting strange. The squirrel thinks the tee is a food station where humans pass out nuts. The squirrels wonder, “why are these humans hostile to me?”
But at least the squirrels at Wyndemere aren’t storing their nut stashes in the golfer’s carts. A squirrel in Fargo, ND stored 175 pounds of black walnuts in the engine compartment of a Chevy Silverado when the owner was away for four days. (3) It seems the squirrel did this every year and the owner used deterrents such as tabasco spray so the squirrel only stored a few nuts. This year there must have been a bumper crop of walnuts in the nearby tree. The nuts filled the engine compartment so fully the insurance agent spent seven hours removing car body parts to get to the nuts. The nuts filled seven five-gallon buckets. The agent thinks there are still some of the nuts hidden inside the frame.
But back to golfing in Florida. You'd think the golfers complaining about aggressive squirrels would be more worried about alligators. For people not familiar with Florida golf courses, most water hazards are home to gators. James Nifong, Croc Docs, University of Fl, said, “anywhere where there is water there can be an alligator - the smallest puddle up to the large lakes …They (gators) typically will leave you alone as long as you leave them alone.“(4) (e.g., don’t feed them).
Apparently, these Wyndemere golfers were so concerned about the squirrels they didn’t realize that a Wyndemere resident found an eight-foot alligator in his garage. The gator didn’t do much damage but did seem to like the beer stored in the garage since he emptied several beer cans. The residents called animal control and the gator was relocated. Probably to a friendlier golf course.
Some Florida golf courses are proud of their big gators. They even give them nicknames, like “Humpback” the 14-foot gator on a Sebring, Florida golf course. (Golf Digest). (5) They chuckle at the golf ball-eating gators that steal the ball before it goes into the hole. Google ‘golf ball eating gator’ and you’ll get pages of videos.
Is there a lesson here? Do gators prefer beer and golf balls over peanuts? By the way, they also eat squirrels.
Not all Florida golfers are aware that water hazard has a new meaning in Florida. When a golf cart that guests at our community course used mysteriously ended up in the pond, the woman golfer rushed into the water to save the golf clubs. It was too late to tell her there is a 10-foot gator in that pond. If you look at the picture below of the cart and our resident gator - notice the reeds behind the cart and the same reeds across the pond from the gator (less than 200 yards).
Golf Cart in pond. Notice the gator across the same pond (different day).
Don’t be fooled by the videos of gators lumbering across the golf courses. Gators can sprint 35MPH for short distances and 20 MPH in the water. That means the gator would take about 8 seconds to swim across the pond. If the gator was on the island next to the golf cart, he would be only a few yards away. Either way, getting into that water was a risky move. There is no evidence, though, that gators eat golf carts or golf clubs so maybe she was ok as long as there weren’t any golf balls or beer on the cart.
So, if you think golfing in Florida is a good way to relax and reduce stress, think again. You’ll have to be on the lookout for aggressive squirrels and ball-eating gators.
References
Kendall Little, Country Club looks into relocating ‘aggressive’ squirrels, Naples Daily News, February 11, 2023.
Leslie Nemo, City Squirrels May be Getting Bolder – Or Maybe You’re the One Who’s Changed, Discover, Apr 29, 2021.
Gary Gastelu, Squirrel hid 175 pounds of nuts in Chevy Avalanche pickup while owner was away, Fox News, October 4, 2021.
Lauren Leslie (reporter), Matthew Seaver (Writer), Alligator gives Collier County couple a birthday surprise, WINKnews.com, April 29, 2022.
Coleman Bentley, Absolute unit of a gator spotted on Florida golf course sparks viral reaction, Golf Digest, February 17, 2023
Alligator takes a man's golf ball on a Florida course, Orlando Fox, May 31, 2022
Links to other ball-eating gators – these could become as popular as cat videos1
Pete Thomas, Massive gator spotted on Florida golf course, a 'Jurassic' moment, USAToday.com, February 16, 2023.
Massive alligator (12 ft) casually walks across golf course.
Alligator takes man’s golf ball on Florida Course. This one was just a baby (8-10 feet).
Hi Sue! I enjoy your blog so much! I really got a laugh today because Hank and I feed the squirrels when we walk at the park and believe me they expect it. They’re not a bit shy about running up to us and begging for peanuts! No alligators in Ohio, though!!!