An 11 -feet alligator that made a canoeing tour and killed a woman in the center of Florida on May 6, recalled that, although alligator’s attacks on humans are “extremely rare”, as a state fauna manager said, they occur, sometimes with fatal results.
“It serves as a dark recall of the powerful fauna that shares our natural spaces,” said Roger Young, executive director of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Florida had an average of eight alligator bites not caused for a year over the 10 -year period which ended in 2022, according to the Commission. Many of them were serious enough to need medical care.
The Commission urged people To be cautious in or near the water during the Alligator’s air season, which takes place from early April to June. The risk of an attack is higher, he said, because alligators tend to be more aggressive, active and visible during this period.
The agency and other wildlife commissions have offered these tips to avoid or stay safe around reptiles, which can reach 15 feet long.
Where are they?
Alligators can be found from center to Texas to the East to North Carolina, according to Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
Louisiana and Florida have the largest populations – more than a million each. Georgia has 200,000 to 250,000 alligators and South Carolina is home to around 100,000.
Morgan Hart, the alligator project manager of the Southern Carolina Natural Resources Department, believes that alligator attacks have increased in the state over the years due to “pure growth of the human population in the Southern Carolina Coast Plaine”.
When new housing developments are built, artificial lakes are often created with them, then quickly inhabited by alligators.
Be aware of the alligator.
If you meet an alligator on Earth, “you can just get away with it,” said Ms. Hart.
“The alligators will also whistle if they feel that someone is too close and that they cannot run away,” she said.
People should be wary of any approaching alligator, she said, because it can be a sign that he has been nourished and associates humans with food.
Humans should also keep alligators at least 30 feet at all times, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.
“They rarely continue people, but they can exceed or exceed the fastest person during the first 30 feet,” said the agency, noting that alligators can sprint up to 35 miles per hour for short distances on earth.
Watch your children and dogs closely.
Alligators prefer to continue the prey that they can easily dominate.
“Pets often look like the natural prey of the alligators,” said Lauren Claerbout, spokesperson for Florida Wildlife Commission.
People have to keep their pets on a leash and under control, and not allow them to swim or exercise in the canals, ponds or lakes that can have alligators.
“The sound of barking and playing dogs can attract an alligator in the region,” said Florida Wildlife Commission.
Be careful where you swim.
Wildlife agencies suggest that people only swim in areas designated during the hours of clarity and without pets.
“Alligators are the most active between twilight and dawn,” said Ms. Claerbout.
If you meet an alligator in the water, stay calm and do not approach, according to Florida Wildlife Commission.
Do not feed them.
It is illegal and dangerous to feed alligators in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas (except during the hunting season of this state).
The Department of Louisiana fauna and peaches said that people should not throw away fish left in the water or feed other wild animals in areas where alligators are gathering.
“As long as people do not feed them,” said Donald Houser, Managing Director of Gator Park, who is just south of Miami and presents programs with alligators. He added that an alligator loses his fear of humans after three days of a person who feeds him.
“Stay away, basically,” he said.
How to retaliate.
You should only retaliate against an alligator if it prevents you, said officials.
“In this case, target his eyes, his nose or his throat, which are his most sensitive areas”, according to the Everglades National Park in the south of Florida, adding that people should “strike, kick or blow with as much force as possible to try to force the gator to release his grip”.
However, if you are seized in the jaws of an alligator, there is a thin chance that you can escape, said Mr. Houser.
“You’d better make a loved one who knows what he is doing,” he said.
“Alligators do not eat people,” he said, but they can bite someone and then spit the person. Until then, he may have maintained the person underwater for too long, he said: “And it can be too late.”
