Disney World is said to be one of the happiest places on earth.

I would certainly agree with this statement myself. This past March, I got to experience the magic of Disney over spring break with my family. The jubilant environment, pristine grounds and detail to everything made its popularity no surprise to me. Even at 17 years old, I still had an abundance of fun at all the parks, never getting tired of Space Mountain, enjoying the ever-lasting theatrics of Tower of Terror, and the charm of each Epcot country. For an amusement park, it felt more like I was transformed to another world.

But that’s the magic we all expect and love from Disney. So to hear of the story of a two-year-old child killed by an alligator at one of their resorts is extremely tragic. To imagine, just miles from where I was months before, just a train ride away, a family lost their young boy.

I tried re-imagining my spring break. We had been anticipating everything. A vacation with my family, one that had been planned over a year in advance. Even though my siblings and I are all older, we looked forward to the parades, getting the chance to meet our favorite princesses and revisiting the classic rides like Pooh Bear and Peter Pan we remember so well from our childhood. But I tried imagining our trip, where one night, my sister was suddenly gone. And I couldn’t do it.

One family from Nebraska must now live through this as they face the reality of their son being snatched and killed by an alligator during their visit to the magical land of Disney. A land where dreams are supposed to come true and there are no limits to a child’s imagination. A place where I had been just months earlier.

I am sure Disney, Florida and all vacations will never be the same for this family. And to have their son's death publicized on every news station leaves them with constant reminders they don’t need because I am sure they won't forget.

Some blame Disney for not having alligator signs posted around the lake to warn of the dangers lurking just beyond the shore. But this is Florida. In Florida, it is expected that alligators will be seen, as they inhabit every county and are the state’s official reptile. There were signs indicating not to swim off the beach, a sign put up in precaution for alligators that might have been in the water.

Most of the blame though sadly, is put on the alligator. Looked upon as being the ferocious predator, Florida officials set out to find the the alligator at fault for the boy’s death and in the process removed six alligators from the lagoon.There was only one alligator at fault.

While this alligator did act on the extreme side, it is not unheard of for alligators to strike, especially in dark and shallow areas. Alligators are known to use the water to hunt. Their stellar eyesight and opportunistic instincts would have instantly drawn the alligator to the boy on this late spring evening. Hunger wouldn’t cause the alligators to exactly know or care what it was hunting. Had this alligator been mistaken? Yes and no. He attacked an innocent toddler just looking to cool off in the pond. But alligators are also apex predators, similar to lions, tigers, bears and us.

As a result of this animal’s naturally predatory senses, should we kill the alligator? I don’t think so. In 45 years, Disney has never had anything like this happen and I believe they had the signage needed to warn of the hazards in the water. As human capacity and population continues to increase, alligator attacks on humans also increase as humans and alligators are pushed closer together.

If the alligator were a person, would we kill it? No. The person would most likely have murdered intentionally while the alligator was acting on its natural hunting instincts. The person would be locked away while the alligator would be put to rest. I am not saying the alligator deserves a court trial, but the intentions behind murders and the resulting punishments are not the same. I think to relocate or even inhabit the alligator could have been a potentially better option than automatic death.

Punishing animals by death is not the solution.

Also sources claimed they were able to narrow down the search to two alligators, both “capable of inflicting the type of wounds that the little boy suffered,” but who's to say they actually euthanized the faulty alligator? No comparison could be made through DNA testing. Officials are confident based off of “conditions observed by experts.” There is a chance the wrong alligator was instead killed. But we will never know.

The horrors of this vacation should never have to be endured. Realize the pain is still there for the family, and will be for some time. I hope we become more aware of the animals with which we share our planet. It’s a reminder that while humans may be in overall control as the ultimate predator, we can’t forget there are still other predators living with us.