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OT - What lurks in Lake Osceola?

GojiraCane

GojiraCane

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When I was at Miami in the early 90s I recall that the lake had a colony of barracudas, and once had a manatee that somehow made its way up to the bridge near the student center. The shore of the lake was infested with seemingly unfriendly, diahretic ducks and the occasional snake.

In Perry’s recent social media post he had a shot of the lake, and apparently there are now alligators there. Is there an alligator population in the lake now? The water was supposed to be brackish...can gators live in it? And if so, don’t they pose some risk to the students?

What else is living in Osceola? I’ve heard in the past that Florida crocodiles had been found there. Have Bull sharks ever been seen?

Just curious.
 
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GojiraCane said:
When I was at Miami in the early 90s I recall that the lake had a colony of barracudas, and once had a manatee that somehow made its way up to the bridge near the student center. The shore of the lake was infested with seemingly unfriendly, diahretic ducks and the occasional snake.

In Perry’s recent social media post he had a shot of the lake, and apparently there are now alligators there. Is there an alligator population in the lake now? The water was supposed to be brackish...can gators live in it? And if so, don’t they pose some risk to the students?

What else is living in Osceola? I’ve heard in the past that Florida crocodiles had been found there. Have Bull sharks ever been seen?

Just curious.
Click to expand...

Lol....gators can definitely live brackish water. I see them kayaking nearly every trip to mosquito lagoon. Also bull sharks breed in brackish waters around the world.
 
Tarpon used to be in the canal between the towers in the 80's. They butchered the red mangroves there and put tiny pipes to outlet to the canal so I doubt they live there any more. People from the Grove used to fish for mullet outside of Eaton Hall too.
 
GojiraCane said:
When I was at Miami in the early 90s I recall that the lake had a colony of barracudas, and once had a manatee that somehow made its way up to the bridge near the student center. The shore of the lake was infested with seemingly unfriendly, diahretic ducks and the occasional snake.

In Perry’s recent social media post he had a shot of the lake, and apparently there are now alligators there. Is there an alligator population in the lake now? The water was supposed to be brackish...can gators live in it? And if so, don’t they pose some risk to the students?

What else is living in Osceola? I’ve heard in the past that Florida crocodiles had been found there. Have Bull sharks ever been seen?

Just curious.
Click to expand...


Both sides of Lake Osceola (by the Towers and by the Business School) are canals that go through pipes (under certain bridges), so whatever lives in the lake tends to come from what students set free in the lake. We had gators back in the late 80s (someone would buy a baby alligator in August, keep it in a fishbowl, and then release it when they moved out in May).

Occasionally, I would see the school hire someone to trap the gators, once they grew to a size that would freak out some of the students. I also wandered by one day when a bunch of football players had been pressed into service to lift a manatee out of the canal and onto the back of a truck, so that it could be relocated. Some animals come through the canals/pipes, and then grow to a size where they can't get back out.

No barracudas, though. Gar, yes. They look similar.
 
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dhouze said:
Tarpon used to be in the canal between the towers in the 80's. They butchered the red mangroves there and put tiny pipes to outlet to the canal so I doubt they live there any more. People from the Grove used to fish for mullet outside of Eaton Hall too.
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Oh, yeah. With cane poles and bobbers.
 
dhouze said:
Tarpon used to be in the canal between the towers in the 80's. They butchered the red mangroves there and put tiny pipes to outlet to the canal so I doubt they live there any more. People from the Grove used to fish for mullet outside of Eaton Hall too.
Click to expand...

Tarpon can live anywhere.... caught many out of interstate retention ponds. Caught a few 20+ lbers out of ditches that werent even 2ft deep too. Very resilient fish.
 
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GojiraCane said:
When I was at Miami in the early 90s I recall that the lake had a colony of barracudas, and once had a manatee that somehow made its way up to the bridge near the student center. The shore of the lake was infested with seemingly unfriendly, diahretic ducks and the occasional snake.

In Perry’s recent social media post he had a shot of the lake, and apparently there are now alligators there. Is there an alligator population in the lake now? The water was supposed to be brackish...can gators live in it? And if so, don’t they pose some risk to the students?

What else is living in Osceola? I’ve heard in the past that Florida crocodiles had been found there. Have Bull sharks ever been seen?

Just curious.
Click to expand...

I was there from '90-'94 (Marine Science/Biology major). I remember the manatee. Watched the stranding response team come and take it out of the lake to take it to more suitable habitat. I remember seeing a variety of fishes that can tolerate brackish water, from more freshwater-type species such as cichlids, to occasionally seeing sergeant majors and other small saltwater reef fish. The ducks with the ugly red faces and bad attitudes are muscovy ducks. They are a transplant from South America that have become established all over Florida.
 
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GojiraCane said:
When I was at Miami in the early 90s I recall that the lake had a colony of barracudas, and once had a manatee that somehow made its way up to the bridge near the student center. The shore of the lake was infested with seemingly unfriendly, diahretic ducks and the occasional snake.

In Perry’s recent social media post he had a shot of the lake, and apparently there are now alligators there. Is there an alligator population in the lake now? The water was supposed to be brackish...can gators live in it? And if so, don’t they pose some risk to the students?

What else is living in Osceola? I’ve heard in the past that Florida crocodiles had been found there. Have Bull sharks ever been seen?

Just curious.
Click to expand...

gators and crocs aren't new to the lake. we had a croc for a while in the early 00s and some ******** killed it and cut its head off. there's another one in there now.

www.themiamihurricane.com

16-year-old arrested in killing of crocodile on campus

The University of Miami Police Department in conjunction with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have arrested a 16-year-old in the murder of the 8-to 10-foot crocodile killed …
www.themiamihurricane.com www.themiamihurricane.com

www.themiamihurricane.com

There’s a crocodile on campus. Here’s how to live with it.

On Aug. 31, students whipped out cellphones after spotting it along the edge of Lake Osceola. Then it was spotted by the UM School of Business. A four-foot-long American crocodile has been lingerin…
www.themiamihurricane.com www.themiamihurricane.com
 
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Swamp Rabbit an her peoples.
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Last edited:
TheOriginalCane said:
Both sides of Lake Osceola (by the Towers and by the Business School) are canals that go through pipes (under certain bridges), so whatever lives in the lake tends to come from what students set free in the lake. We had gators back in the late 80s (someone would buy a baby alligator in August, keep it in a fishbowl, and then release it when they moved out in May).

Occasionally, I would see the school hire someone to trap the gators, once they grew to a size that would freak out some of the students. I also wandered by one day when a bunch of football players had been pressed into service to lift a manatee out of the canal and onto the back of a truck, so that it could be relocated. Some animals come through the canals/pipes, and then grow to a size where they can't get back out.

No barracudas, though. Gar, yes. They look similar.
Click to expand...

Gators are pretty much an option everywhere there are canals and wet grass. But UM does a pretty good job of making sure none of any consequence are meandering around the shoreline. Can't remember there was an incident on campus involving one.

And yes, Bull sharks can breed in brackish water, but very unlikely you'll find them in smaller lakes, like the ones on UM campus) and certainly not ones of any appreciable size. Just not enough food supply for them to want to stick around and grow.
 
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