Alligators are not normally aggressive except during mating season. They are known to love and seek out special treats like dog, chicken and marshmallows, but for the most part they stay clear of humans.

There is an exception to every rule, of course. One river rat was explaining to me and Judy why he had to go to the hospital one night to have some 'gator teeth removed from his hand.

It was a sad, sad story. He had stopped his airboat in Middlefield very late one dark night. He was minding his own business and bailing some water out of his boat when a 'gator, attracted by the splashing, just jumped up and bit him on the hand!

It was a ferocious struggle, but he finally managed to repel the beast and drive himself to the hospital.

OK, it wasn't so much a sad story as a sorry one. No one who knows 'gators (or this particular river rat) believes it for a second. That 'gator wasn't trying to get into the boat, he was trying to get out!

Some of us think our river rat could have come up with a better explanation than that, but that's his story and he's sticking with it!