Where do alligators in Florida live?
Alligators have inhabited Florida’s marshes, swamps, rivers and lakes for many centuries, and are found in all 67 counties. In recent years, Florida has experienced tremendous human population growth. Many residents seek waterfront homes, and increasingly participate in water-related activities.
Do alligators attack humans in Florida?
Unprovoked alligator attacks on humans are rare relative to other accidental death risks in Florida. An unprovoked attack happens when an alligator makes first contact with a human, whereas a provoked attack happens when the human voluntarily makes contact with or disturbs an alligator in some way.
What to do if you see an alligator Florida?
Do – call your TPWD regional office if you encounter a nuisance gator that has lost its fear of people.
- Don’t – allow small children to play by themselves in or around water.
- Don’t – swim at night or during dusk or dawn when alligators most actively feed.
- Don’t – feed or entice alligators.
Is Florida full of alligators?
The state has so many alligators – an estimated 1.3 million – that requiring signs would mean they’d be everywhere, obscuring everything. I also called Kenneth Krysko, a reptile expert for the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida at Gainesville.
Can I outrun an alligator on land?
It’s very rare for an alligator to chase a human on dry land. And the average human could easily outrun an alligator, zigzagging or not — it tops out at a speed of around 9.5 miles per hour (15 kph), and it can’t maintain that speed for very long [source: University of Florida].
What do you do if an alligator is chasing you?
If you happen to lock eyes with an alligator on land, forget running in a zigzag. Run away as fast as you can in a straight line. Alligators will typically chase a human only to defend their territory.
How often do alligators attack people in Florida?
Very rarely, on average once a year or less (keep in mind there are over 20 million people in Florida living alongside 1.5 million alligators). As far as non-fatal attacks? Maybe 8–12 per year on average, some of them provoked. Alligators can be potentially dangerous, but compared to some of the larger crocodile species, attacks are very rare.
What is the lifespan of a Florida Alligator?
No average lifespan for an alligator has been measured. One of the oldest recorded alligator lives was that of Saturn, an American alligator who was born in 1936 in Mississippi and spent nearly a decade in Germany before spending the majority of its life at the Moscow Zoo, where it died at the age of 83 or 84 on 22 May 2020.
What is the biggest alligator ever caught in Florida?
What is the largest alligator in Florida? The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the record for the heaviest gator caught in the state is a 1,043-pound male from Orange Lake in Alachua County. It was long, too: 13 feet, 10-1/2 inches. The longest gator caught was a 14-foot, 3-1/2 inch male from Lake Washington in Brevard County.
What are some alligators that live in Florida?
History of Gators in Florida. Gators have roamed the habitat of the Sunshine State for many centuries and can be found in 67 counties.