[at-l] Spring? (OT)

[stephensadams@xxxxxxxxxxx (Steve Adams)]

RoksnRoots,

Reference your post, dated 3-14-03, about an alligator which attacked a boy
and his father (who was attacking the alligator to extricate his son).

You suggest, =93... they were better letting (the alligator) live and
relocating it.  A dead alligator doesn't pass on genes telling it to stay
away from humans because they'll bash you with a rock...=94

I don=92t think such learning is transmitted genetically.

Alligators inherit the propensity to include humans as potential food.  Some
stimulus existed in THAT particular alligator/human environment at THAT time
to cause THAT alligator to attack.  The fear is, whatever that alligator
inherited, causing the feared behavior, would be passed to its progeny.
This genetic string was extinguished with the killing of that animal.  There
is an implicit hope that whatever that alligator inherited is unique, not
shared by many/all other alligators.

Perhaps we could segregate alligators and humans, by training the alligators
to continuously flip-flop the A(lligator) T(rail).  We would need supply
areas along the way to provide them dogs and marshmallows.

Steve

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