LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Firefighters at Walt Disney World were warned to stop feeding alligators at one of the resort's fire stations two months before an alligator dragged a toddler to his death, according to emails.
Reedy Creek Emergency Services reprimanded firefighters for feeding at least one of two alligators at a station less than a half-mile from Seven Seas Lagoon, where Lane Graves, 2, of Omaha, Nebraska, was killed after being pulled into the water by a gator.
An animal described as being as long as 7 feet long snatched the little boy as he waded in shallow water around nightfall on June 14.
The beach, located at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa across a lake from the Magic Kingdom, had "no swimming" signs, but no warning about alligators.
Disney has since put up fences and warning signs, as well as banned guests from fishing on property, to prevent any other accidents.
It is dangerous to feed alligators because it can cause them to overcome their natural wariness to humans, and teaches them to associate people with food, a Gatorland animal expert told WFTV.
Tim Williams has spent more than 25 years with Gatorland.
“A fed gator is a dead gator. Eventually it’s going to become a nuisance, and eventually, it’s going to have to be captured and euthanized,” said Williams.
Feeding alligators is also illegal.
The email said employees were afraid after one gator was spotted near the parking lot and asked officials to remove it. Part of the email from a communications captain read, “As you can imagine, this is making the communicators nervous because they are fearful of walking to their car and their leg becoming dinner.”
Fire officials said as soon as they learned about the problem, they took action.
They also pointed out while the pond near their station is close to the lagoon where Graves was killed, the two aren’t directly connected.
Animal control was contacted, but it’s not clear if any alligators were removed.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.