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Florida alligator attacks raise questions about safety
Experts say drought, feeding and routine water activity can make alligators more aggressive, even as officials note most encounters remain rare.
- Recent alligator attacks across Florida, including a fatal encounter in Orlando, are drawing attention to safety risks; lab results confirmed a 13-foot alligator killed the woman fatally attacked while swimming in a river.
- Dr. Edwin Everham with Florida Gulf Coast University suggests long-term drought and seasonal mating cycles are driving alligators into limited areas, forcing these reptiles closer to human populations.
- Allen Register, co-owner of Gatorama in Glades County, states feeding alligators eliminates their natural fear of people: "It can only have to happen two or three times before that alligator realizes that, oh, there's a person over there; they must have food for me," Register said.
- When a gator becomes a problem, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission calls in a licensed trapper; once removed, the animal typically becomes the trapper's property for processing or sale to exhibits.
- Estero resident Richard Wilbanks, who saved his puppy Gunner from an alligator in 2020, now advocates wildlife safety education, saying "We probably need more education in how to cope with wildlife.
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28 Articles
Coverage Details
Total News Sources28
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center27Last UpdatedBias Distribution96% Center
Bias Distribution
- 96% of the sources are Center
96% Center
C 96%
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