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Disney World have put up a fence after toddler Lane Graves was taken by an alligator. Picture: KTLA
DISNEY World officials have finally put up a fence along a lagoon they have long known was infested with alligators, but only after one of the beasts killed a two-year-old boy as he played in the water.
The New York Post reports that a temporary barrier of wooden posts connected by heavy rope was installed along the Seven Seas Lagoon shoreline where a gator snatched away little Lane Graves on Tuesday evening.
Workers also put up signs that read: “Danger. Alligators and snakes in area. Stay away from the water. Do not feed the wildlife.â€
The Orlando-area resort had known for decades about the alligator issue — and was even sued in the 1980s about the lack of warnings after another child was attacked — yet there were only “no swimming†signs in place at the lagoon.
A warning sign installed at Disney resort beach locations. Picture: AFPSource:AFP
A crew of more than a dozen workers from a Disney contractor, Buena Vista Construction Co., fanned out on the beach to dig holes and put up the fence and new signs along the 172-acre (69-hectare), man-made lake.
A Disney employee told The New York Post that an alligator attack “could happen anytime.â€
Jacquee Wahler, vice president of Walt Disney World Resort, vowed to take further precautions to prevent such an attack.
“We are installing signage and temporary barriers at our resort beach locations and are working on permanent, long-term solutions at our beaches,†she said in a statement.
“We continue to evaluate processes and procedures for our entire property, and, as part of this, we are reinforcing training with our [staff] for reporting sightings and interactions with wildlife and are expanding our communication to guests on this topic.â€
Toddler Lane Graves who was taken by an alligator. Picture: AFPSource:AFP
Lane and his family, including his four-year-old sister, were playing on the shore outside the luxe Grand Floridian Resort & Spa when the alligator got its jaws around the boy in shallow water and dragged him under. His body was recovered the next day.
Some saw the grisly death as a long overdue wake-up call.
“Disney takes time to do anything ... but they did this right away,†the Disney employee said. “They’re doing this at all the [Disney] beaches today.â€
A GoFundMe page has been set up for a Graves family. Picture: GoFundMeSource:Supplied
The Graves family, from Elkhorn, Nebraska, was on its third day of vacation when the boy was attacked.
Lane’s dad, former high-school champion wrestler Matt Graves, had desperately tried to pry the boy from the jaws of the animal.
An autopsy confirmed that the toddler died from drowning and traumatic injuries.
Five alligators have since been removed and euthanised, but it was unclear if any of them were the boy’s killer.
Alligators have been spotted all around Disney World in the past. Picture: APSource:AP
A recent report charged that Disney World was warned about the alligator problem in the Seven Seas Lagoon but that it overlooked it because high-paying guests enjoyed feeding the creatures.
YouTube is also littered with videos of alligators lurking near some of the park’s most famous attractions, including Splash Mountain and Tom Sawyer Island.
A Disney worker told The New York Post that the company “shares a lot of the blame ... a lot of the blame†for Lane’s death.
This article originally appeared in The New York Post