Respect your local alligator — or risk the consequences

Capt. Kirk is on leave for a while. In the meantime, enjoy a version of this classic from our archives.

The sign on the dock reads: “Do Not Feed the Gators. They might then eat you, and that might make them sick.”

The sign is humorous, yes — but it is also (for the most part) accurate.

This time of year, kids are out of school, and families go out on their boats. Folks are waterskiing, tubing, fishing and camping on the river, and alligators should always be on their minds.

This is why it is important not to feed or tease alligators. In our area, intelligence challenged people sometimes mess with gators.

It’s up to us to tell them to stop.

Any wild animal — regardless of how “cute” — loses its fear of humans when we try to interact with them. That’s when wild animals become dangerous. About 99% of alligator attacks occur when the gator has been desensitized to people because of its past human interactions, mainly with the alligator being fed.

Gators nest in the summer months. Mating occurs in the early spring when the water warms up. Alligators build nests in the brush along the water’s edge, where there are higher-than-average high tide levels. These nests can also be established in swampy backwoods fields. So, if you go hiking in these areas, be aware (or beware). Alligator nests are made of rotting vegetation because, as the stuff decays, it produces heat. The sex of the hatchlings is determined and influenced by the temperature during the seven- to 21-day incubation period. Higher temperatures produce more males. Warmer temperatures are found in higher ground, where the marshy wetlands are slightly cooler. More female gators hatch in cooler temperatures. The ratio of gator hatchlings is usually five females to one male.

During the nesting period, the mother gator remains close to the nest, protecting the eggs that are buried in the composting mound. But that doesn’t keep raccoons, bobcats and hogs from often raiding the nest. Once the eggs start hatching in late summer, the mother gator protects her young for about a year — if they stay close to her. Some baby gators wander away and are eaten by animals, fish and birds. Large gators will also eat the young. Only about 10% of hatchlings make it to maturity. With our seasonal rains, small gators can be seen in roadside ditches and ponds and sometimes crawling across the road. (Those that don’t make it across end up as road kill.)

I am often asked why we haven’t seen any gators on the river. During hot summer days, gators want to cool off, just as we do. However, we would never think of jumping off a boat and swimming to the shore to get under the brush in the shade. But gators do — as do turtles and snakes. Sometimes, a bird will land in the branches above the gator, close to the water. This is essentially lunch delivery — kind of like Grubhub for gators. The gator will turn and snap its powerful jaws on the unsuspecting prey. This is what we call opportunistic feeding.

A while back, a YouTube video showcased an airboat guide swimming with and hand-feeding gators. While it was exciting for the passengers on his boat, this type of action is a detriment to guides who respect nature and want to share this respect with tourists.

Most of these stunts take place in Louisiana, but there is a case in which, one summer, an Everglades airboat captain stopped his boat and told passengers to get their cameras ready to take pictures. The captain held a small fish over the side of the boat and shouted, “Watch this!”

Before you could blink, a large gator lunged out of the water and grabbed the fish — and the captain’s hand. The gator rolled over and over, twisting off the hand before slowly swimming away. The passengers were stunned. (But I bet they got great pictures!)

The aftermath involved passengers in shock (that’ll give you PTSD for sure), a trip to the hospital and charges made by authorities. Why recount such a gruesome incident? Because I need to make a point.

I ask you to respect all of nature and set an example for others — especially our young people — so that we all might continue to enjoy the great outdoors. (And that includes gators, too. After all, they’re the natives; we’re the invaders.)

Fair winds; calm seas. ¦

— Capt. Dennis Kirk and his wife, Nancy, are avid mariners and outdoor enthusiasts. Since the 1970s, their love of nature in Southwest Florida has allowed them to experience the dream of writing about their travels and adventures of sailing, fishing or flying out of their homeport on the Peace River, the old DeSoto marina.

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