Firefighters Asked Not To Feed Gators Near Walt Disney World
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LAKE BUENA VISTA(AP) — Two months before an alligator killed a toddler in the Seven Seas Lagoon at Walt Disney World, firefighters at one of the resort's fire stations were warned to stop feeding the alligators.
According to emails obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, Reedy Creek Emergency Services admonished firefighters for feeding at least one of two alligators at a station less than a half-mile from the lagoon where 2-year-old son Lane Graves of Omaha, Nebraska, was killed after being pulled into the water by a gator.
Feeding alligators is illegal.
The email said employees were afraid after one gator was spotted near the parking lot and asked officials to remove it.
Reedy Creek District Administrator John Classe said Disney's animal-control department was contacted but he did not know whether either alligator was ever removed.
A Disney spokeswoman said Wednesday it was unclear whether the gator had been removed.
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