When we visited the town of Darien, Georgia, we took a morning to visit the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge. There is a five-mile auto tour with walking trails to different ponds.
The Ponds
Our first stop was to Bluebill Pond.
We lucked out here and met a man named Mark. He used to work for some kind of naturalist outfit and still liked to help them out by doing bird counts. Mark was so nice to us: pointing out all the birds in the area, the young gators, teasing me about getting too close–he was terrific!
Mark drove away before we did, but we saw him again at Woody Pond. He was sitting on a bench at the start of the path. “Well, I can’t do my bird count here.”
“Why?”
“My way is blocked.” Then Mark pointed to a seven-foot-long alligator lying across the path. There was another huge one several yards further down.
Awesome! I got several photos, but of course didn’t get too close. Mark pointed out the slightly thicker humped back and jowls that showed this was a male alligator.
It was too bad we couldn’t walk down the path, because across the pond the trees were filled with nesting wood storks. I would have loved to get closer photos of those!
An Alligator Tale
Mark told us a great true story. The only person he knew from the town of Darien who ever got attacked by an alligator was a former armed services guy who became a ranger. This guy–let’s call him Jake–told his tale to Mark:
Jake was leading a pack of cub scouts, along with their mothers, at Harris Neck. At one point, Jake crouched down on the bank and gestured out over the water with his arm. Suddenly an alligator lunged from the water, grabbed his arm, and started to pull.
Jake thought, “Oh no, I’m not going with him!” so with his trapped hand, he grabbed the roof of the alligator’s mouth and started to pull back. The alligator was so surprised at being pulled that he opened his mouth and released Jake’s arm.
One of the mother’s said, “We’ve got to get a tourniquet on that arm,” and pulled off her jeans to make one. Jake told Mark that all he remembered was “seeing her pink panties!”
Mark laughed telling us this and said, “at that point, I knew Jake would be okay.”
They airlifted Jake to a hospital where he was met by an Indian doctor. Jake thought, “Oh no, he won’t know how to treat this.” But when the doctor looked at his lacerations and told him it made him think of a crocodile bite, Jake knew he was in good hands. The doctor obviously used to treat crocodile bites in India!
Now that’s a good story!
If You Go:
Be sure to drive the full five-mile route around Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge. It’s worth it because the road is so pretty. I got out several times to take photos of trees draped with Spanish Moss.
If you go, bring binoculars, a camera, wear a hat, sunscreen, depending on the season – mosquito repellant (we were fine in the Spring), and lots of water. The humidity really gets you thirsty. I also recommend wearing long hiking pants and a long-sleeved shirt.
For more information about visiting Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge, go to this website.
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