Avoid Encounters with Alligators

There’s something unique about springtime in Florida that makes it a fascinating place to live. Is it the smell of jasmine or the sight of wild phlox blooming by the roadside? Nah, it’s the alligator in grandma’s petunia bed! For the majority of the nation, springtime arrives when April showers bring May flowers, but in the Sunshine State it’s far less subtle: It’s the resounding bellows that emanate from bull alligators in search of food, mates and individual territories.

Alligators are cold-blooded reptiles whose metabolic rate increases as the weather warms, causing them to become more active. As a result, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) regional offices receive thousands of frantic phone calls at this time of year, asking what to do about the alligator taking a dip in the family pool or the one laying up under the shade of the carport, blocking the driver’s door. Here’s how the FWC recommends you handle the situation if an alligator comes calling.

If there’s no immediate danger, the best thing to do is leave the alligator alone. Because alligators sometimes need to move great distances to meet their survival needs, they often show up in undesirable locations such as driveways, garages, backyards, or in swimming pools. Your private property is usually a temporary resting place for the animal. More than likely the gator will leave on its own in search of more suitable habitat.

People should report only those alligators that are actively causing problems or posing a threat to public safety. They should not report an alligator that is simply sunning itself on a bank or swimming in a lake, just doing what alligators do. However, if an alligator actively threatens humans, pets or livestock, call the FWC immediately at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922) and file a nuisance complaint.
If an alligator is longer than 4 feet and exhibits aggressive behavior, it’s classified as a nuisance and harvested for its meat and hide by a permitted nuisance trapper. Alligators that are larger than 6 feet present the greatest hazard to humans and pets. Smaller gators, 4 feet or less in length, pose little threat to people but they can deliver a nasty bite that should be seen by a physician. The bacteria in an alligator’s mouth cause bite wounds to become infected easily.

According to government estimates, there are more than 1.5 million adult alligators and 16 million people in Florida. As a result, people and alligators come in contact on a daily basis, usually with no harmful effects to either species. That’s because Florida alligators are generally timid and avoid humans whenever possible. But how do you know when one of these alligators has lost its fear of people and is being aggressive?

Alligators are attracted to noises made by lawn mowers, weed trimmers, airboat engines or splashing at the waters edge. However, once the presence of a human is detected, most alligators will not approach any closer, often remaining motionless as a defense. When humans come too close for comfort, gators usually retreat quickly. If they don’t retreat when a person approaches close by, they may have lost their natural fear of people and could become a problem.
“Emergency complaints, describing aggressive alligators that threaten children at play, or alligators that pose an immediate threat to public safety, will be given top priority. Regardless, all complaints, emergency in nature or not, will be evaluated and if necessary, we will send a nuisance trapper to harvest the gator,” said Gary Morse, public information director for the FWC’s Southwest Region.

Unfortunately, some people intentionally embellish an animal’s size and behavior when reporting a nuisance alligator. These false reports compromise the effectiveness of the nuisance alligator program by creating a backlog for FWC trappers who waste a lot of time and energy, trying to catch an alligator that is afraid of people and heads the other way when approached. Meanwhile, the real nuisance alligators that need to be removed are not getting the attention they deserve.

“In order for the system to work properly, complainants need to give an honest appraisal of an animal’s size and behavior, so that real threats, rather than perceived ones, can receive priority attention,” said Morse.

For the next several months, the FWC’s Lakeland regional office will receive, on average, 75 to 100 nuisance alligator complaints a day, or about 5,000 complaints a year. In the last decade, encroaching human development into areas occupied by wildlife has added to the conflict between man and alligator, causing the number of calls to the FWC to skyrocket.

In 2003, the FWC’s Lakeland regional office, which services a 12-county area in Southwest Florida stretching from Brooksville to Ft. Myers, received 5,588 nuisance alligator complaints. There were 2,497 alligators harvested by permitted nuisance trappers in the Southwest Region last year. Statewide, in 2003, there were 17,161 complaints received, resulting in the harvest of 6,759* alligators.

Since the nuisance alligator program began 24 years ago, the FWC has received 272,310 complaints resulting in 113,016* alligators being harvested statewide by permitted trappers.

In the 50-plus years that the FWC has been managing alligators, studies and experience show that individual nuisance reptiles tend to become chronic problems, causing more than their share of trouble.
”Moving a problem alligator is usually not an option for the agency. It’s risky business and creates more problems than it solves. Once a gator has lost its fear of people, it doesn’t matter where you put it, it’s still not afraid of people and it continues to pose a threat,” said Morse.

Furthermore, biologists say that most places have as many alligators as the natural habitat can support. Moving an adult alligator from one established population into another only ensures there will be trouble when it has to out-compete, displace or kill another of its own kind to survive. Additionally, moving animals always brings with it the risk of transplanting disease.

Although most people have a natural respect for alligators, some residents and visitors don’t realize that alligators can be a serious threat. They think there is no harm in throwing an occasional sandwich to the large reptiles; but the practice of feeding gators is dangerous, unlawful and contributes to attacks on humans. Feeding an alligator will cause it to lose its fear of people and become a problem, ultimately leading to its destruction by FWC trappers.

Since 1948, there have been about 330 alligator attacks documented by the FWC, many as a result of people who tried to capture or handle an alligator. Only 13 attacks on humans have been fatal.

Despite the alligator’s reputation, alligators can and do peacefully coexist with people. All it takes is a little understanding of the alligator’s needs and habits to ensure a healthy coexistence.

Here are a few tips that will help you live with alligators:
DON’T feed or entice alligators. Inform others that feeding alligators is against state law. Alligators generally lose their natural fear of people when they associate food with people. By feeding alligators, people create problems for themselves and others.

 DON’T feed other wildlife near the water, throw fish scraps into the water or leave them along the shoreline. Although you are not intentionally feeding alligators, the alligator doesn’t understand that. Dispose of fish scraps or other potential alligator foodstuffs properly.

 DON’T let pets swim or run along the shoreline of waters known to contain large alligators. Alligators are attracted to dogs probably because they are about the same size as an alligator’s natural prey.

 DON’T swim or allow pets to swim in areas with emergent vegetation (plants growing up out of the water). Alligators favor this type of habitat. Swim in designated areas only.

 DON’T swim, walk dogs or small children, at night or at dusk, along the shoreline of waters that are known to contain large alligators. Large alligators feed most actively during the evening hours. Note that it is illegal to water-ski after dark in Florida.

 DON’T try to remove alligators from their natural habitat or try to keep one as a pet. It is strictly against the law to do so. Alligators do not become tame in captivity and handling even small ones may result in bites. Instead, enjoy watching and photographing alligators from a distance.

It is against the law to feed, harass, molest, and attempt to move or kill alligators. Violators should be reported by calling the FWC’s 24-hour, toll-free Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922). Callers may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.
Alligators play a vital role in the ecology of the state’s wetlands and are an important part of Florida’s heritage. For more information on Florida’s alligators, visit the alligator section of the FWC Web site at
www.wildflorida.org/gators/Default.htm or call the Southwest Region office at (863) 648-3206 during normal working hours.

* Figure is expected to increase slightly when reports from trappers, on a small number of remaining nuisance permits, are complete.