Decided I would try and see how close I could get to this alligator that was lying on the bank of Armand Bayou. They are fairly lethargic when it is cold and since it was pretty nippy on this day I figured that it would be an interesting experiment. NOT!!! DOUBLE NOT!!! Decided to do a wee bit of trickery and rotate that photo 90 degrees to the left to make it appear as if I had just walked up to him, but I REALLY am fond of all of my fingers, arms, toes and legs and kept my distance. The second shot shows the unusual position that the alligator was really in. He attempted to crawl out of the water on a very steep part of the bank of the bayou and never made it all the way out of the water. He was content with gathering in the warm rays that the sun provided on this day. Both of these captures are full frame shots and not cropped. I find the big lizards fascinating but definitely respect their size and speed.

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Decided I would try and see how close I could get to this alligator that was lying on the bank of Armand Bayou. They are fairly lethargic when it is cold and since it was pretty nippy on this day I figured that it would be an interesting experiment. NOT!!! DOUBLE NOT!!! Decided to do a wee bit of trickery and rotate that photo 90 degrees to the left to make it appear as if I had just walked up to him, but I REALLY am fond of all of my fingers, arms, toes and legs and kept my distance. The second shot shows the unusual position that the alligator was really in. He attempted to crawl out of the water on a very steep part of the bank of the bayou and never made it all the way out of the water. He was content with gathering in the warm rays that the sun provided on this day. Both of these captures are full frame shots and not cropped. I find the big lizards fascinating but definitely respect their size and speed.


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This is the same alligator off to find a place that will not be around that pesky paddler.

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This huge alligator was sunning himself on the bank, but the winds made controlling the canoe difficult and the launched into the water long before I had the camera in position. It was taken when the sun was high in the sky and he was wet from the water and so the lighting is very harsh, but you can really pick up the textures in the photos. The larger alligators usually eat well and you can see that huge fat store hanging from his neck in this scene. Not the best shot, but it will give you some idea of what a 12 foot alligator looks like trying to get out of the water. I unfortunately got too close and he didn’t climb back out of the water and launches on his merry way up the bayou.

I figured that everyone would like a little break from the Tri-colored herons even if the shot wasn’t the best.


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This alligator, roughly 11 feet or so, was busy sunning him and his buddy as well. I’m sure the grasshopper was very comfortable knowing that ABSOLUTELY NO ONE was going to bother him if he stayed right there the whole time. The photos were taken on Armand Bayou.

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Tags:   Alligator Alligator mississippiensis reptile nature wildlife canoeing paddling Armand Bayou bayou Pasadena Texas WanaM3 Sony A77 Sony A77

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