Haiku

morning mist thins
dead fish caresses distant shore
highrise punctures sky

Tampa Bay

On Second Thought. . .

I may have to revise that statement about there being no predator for the alligator except for man. In less than a week, three women have been killed by alligators in Florida. According to the Sun-Sentinel, there were only 17 human deaths by alligator in Florida in the previous 58 years. A severe drought, lowered water levels, mating season, and loss of habitat all contribute to this. The young woman who died here in Broward County lived in Paradise Village, the mobile home park I used to live in. She was also a student at Florida Atlantic University, the school from which my daughter graduated. The running path where she was apparently stalked, attacked, and pulled into the water by a nine foot alligator, is right by State Road 84 and Markham Park, a spot I used to run at all the time. I still go there sometimes to take pictures of birds and alligators. What a horrible thing to have happen. Unfortunately, it seems like more of this is going to occur.