American Alligator
The official state reptile of Florida, the American Alligator can grow up to 15ft and weigh 453kg (adult male). They inhabit freshwater wetlands including swamps, rivers, ponds and lakes and eat pretty much anything that's available.
Although American Alligators are less aggressive towards humans than Nile and saltwater crocodiles, caution should still be exercised when gators are, or might be, present.
Despite Florida having more than a million gators and being a very popular holiday destination, reported attacks on humans have been about 250 in the last 70 years with 23 of these being fatal.
Following the tragic death of a two year old boy at a Disney Resort in 2016 (he had been playing in shallow water at the edge of a lake at about 9.00pm), the authorities advised that families with young children should stay clear of waterways at night-time, when gators can’t readily make out the difference between a small child and their normal food sources such as wading birds and mammals.
Female gators can also be very aggressive during the nesting season (June/July) and quite often wardens of wildlife reserves will close paths and trails during this time if there are nests close by.
The gator in this photo is a rather small one. It was taken at Lakes Regional Park which is quite a well used public park near Fort Myers in Florida. I have seen much larger gators there and I understand that the local authorities will occasionally remove these large gators and relocate them to somewhere more appropriate.
As always, thank you so much for stopping by and for leaving any comments or faves, they are very much appreciated.
American Alligator
The official state reptile of Florida, the American Alligator can grow up to 15ft and weigh 453kg (adult male). They inhabit freshwater wetlands including swamps, rivers, ponds and lakes and eat pretty much anything that's available.
Although American Alligators are less aggressive towards humans than Nile and saltwater crocodiles, caution should still be exercised when gators are, or might be, present.
Despite Florida having more than a million gators and being a very popular holiday destination, reported attacks on humans have been about 250 in the last 70 years with 23 of these being fatal.
Following the tragic death of a two year old boy at a Disney Resort in 2016 (he had been playing in shallow water at the edge of a lake at about 9.00pm), the authorities advised that families with young children should stay clear of waterways at night-time, when gators can’t readily make out the difference between a small child and their normal food sources such as wading birds and mammals.
Female gators can also be very aggressive during the nesting season (June/July) and quite often wardens of wildlife reserves will close paths and trails during this time if there are nests close by.
The gator in this photo is a rather small one. It was taken at Lakes Regional Park which is quite a well used public park near Fort Myers in Florida. I have seen much larger gators there and I understand that the local authorities will occasionally remove these large gators and relocate them to somewhere more appropriate.
As always, thank you so much for stopping by and for leaving any comments or faves, they are very much appreciated.