Emails asked firefighters to stop feeding gators near Disney

Thursday, July 14, 2016
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL -- Firefighters at Walt Disney World were warned to stop feeding alligators at one of the resort's fire stations two months before an alligator killed a toddler.

According to emails obtained by 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 Seven Seas Lagoon where 2-year-old Lane Graves of Omaha, Nebraska, was killed after being pulled into the water by a gator.
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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.
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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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