Will It Kill You? Story at Eleven

We're still here in Port Aransas, Texas, where we made the rare mistake last night of looking at the television during the local evening news. The top story? An alligator was sunning itself on the banks of a pond situated near a south Corpus Christi subdivision. The local game warden pointed out that this is, well, where alligators live. That people have moved into alligator habitat is unsurprising (for a large-scale discussion of this problem, visit this excellent blog). But we rarely consider the kind of inanity to which such infringed-upon alligators are subject:

"I was just walking really, and looked across and saw it," said Scott Baker. "I was like, 'Is that really what I think it is, or is that a big tree stump?' It seemed more of an attraction Friday than an actual danger, but for the parents of the kids who frequent the pond area it was a bit more unsettling.

"I went home to get a drink, and my mom was like 'Don't try and play with it', so I was like 'all right'," said Zachary Cason.