Gators in the workplace!

Members of Salon's Table Talk share tales of wildlife in their office space

Published July 14, 2009 3:11PM (EDT)

Work Life

True Tales of the Office, Three: Wilbur's Revenge: The Musical!

Oceanus - 11:24 am Pacific Time - Jul 7, 2009 - #8459 of 8544

People ... there is an alligator in the drainage ditch outside my office.

AndyF - 11:26 am Pacific Time - Jul 7, 2009 - #8460 of 8544

Cool.

Oceanus - 11:26 am Pacific Time - Jul 7, 2009 - #8461 of 8544

Yeah, a little one. About four feet long looks like.

Atalanta - 11:28 am Pacific Time - Jul 7, 2009 - #8462 of 8544

Wow, cool! Usually the only gators I see are in my office.

Oceanus - 11:33 am Pacific Time - Jul 7, 2009 - #8465 of 8544

I work on a federal installation with an undeveloped buffer zone around it containing all sorts of swamps and bayous. We have lots of wildlife ambling around.

Dale - 11:37 am Pacific Time - Jul 7, 2009 - #8467 of 8545

Around here, alligators belong in zoos. "Wildlife" means squirrels and raccoons and chipmunks. And a FOUR FOOT LONG ALLIGATOR is not a "little one".

Shudder.

Oceanus - 11:42 am Pacific Time - Jul 7, 2009 - #8468 of 8545

Four feet is not tiny but it isn't all that big either.

Samiratou - 11:43 am Pacific Time - Jul 7, 2009 - #8469 of 8545

Though we do get the occasional turkey or deer around these parts. So far no pumas or bears, though those sometimes pop up closer to the 'burbs than one would like.

princessalex - 06:24 am Pacific Time - Jul 8, 2009 - #8488 of 8545

The closest my work gets to wildlife is ... wait a minute. I work at an elementary school. It's all about wildlife! :D

Pit Viper - 06:29 am Pacific Time - Jul 8, 2009 - #8489 of 8545

My last job had offices that were beautiful re-done turn of the century factories situated on a riverbank. It was downstream from a bird sanctuary, so we had swans, herons, cormorants, turkeys, raptors and huge flocks of mallards that would get into brawls during mating season. A lot of us would kayak during lunch hour and have informal bird-spotting competitions. Whoever spotted the enormous two-foot turtle got a bonus.

Also, otters. So cute -- they'll swim right up to your kayak, lie on their backs in the water and check you out in case you might have food. There was a woodchuck with a huge square head that lived in an abandoned shack by the railroad tracks right outside my office window. He'd come out and sunbathe.

No alligators, though! That would rock.

Thryn - 07:43 am Pacific Time - Jul 8, 2009 - #8490 of 8545

I'm glad you've only had ONE monkey in the house, Imogen!

My office only had squirrels and pigeons. No telling what the next office will have.

princessalex - 08:39 am Pacific Time - Jul 8, 2009 - #8491 of 8545

Politicians?

Kdub - 10:23 am Pacific Time - Jul 8, 2009 - #8492 of 8545

I work at a lake in an urban area, and I'm pleased and surprised that we have regular visitors of the wild sort: beavers, nutria, salmon, herons, and the occasional bald eagle. Not to mention the usual ducks, geese, etc.

Imogen - 11:01 am Pacific Time - Jul 8, 2009 - #8496 of 8545

We do have cows (seriously, just wandering the streets), but they're not so angry. They're pretty calm, eating out of the dumpster and blocking traffic. India really is through the looking glass...

Oceanus - 11:50 am Pacific Time - Jul 7, 2009 - #8470 of 8545

On the installation here we have gators, armadillos, raccoons, deer, turkeys and wild hogs. There are occasional unconfirmed sightings of what might be black bears and cougars but the latter, especially, are very doubtful.

Robyn - 11:57 am Pacific Time - Jul 7, 2009 - #8471 of 8545

Oh, man, I have bunnies, turkeys and squirrels outside my window, but 'gators are way cooler.

Bouteloua - 05:03 pm Pacific Time - Jul 7, 2009 - #8479 of 8545

We have baby alligators in my office. But then I work in a wildlife agency. So to be expected.

Just Lee - 09:21 pm Pacific Time - Jul 7, 2009 - #8483 of 8545

The closest my office gets to wildlife is when the company next door has their annual customer appreciation party. We've heard they have "dancers". Well, there were a pair of raccoons that fell through the ceiling last year. That was NOT fun, they crapped all over the place. They have smaller mouths but can be as unpleasant as gators.

Calamity Jeanne - 09:32 pm Pacific Time - Jul 7, 2009 - #8484 of 8545

The closest my office gets to wildlife is when certain real estate developers walk in the door.

Oceanus - 10:22 am Pacific Time - Jul 9, 2009 - #8511 of 8545

Heh ... to follow up on the earlier discussion, today the safety office at my facility felt the need to set up a table in the cafeteria to warn us all not to feed the alligators. They also handed out Alligator Awareness brochures and keychains.

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