See Ya Later, Gator; Reptiles Found Wandering Throughout Pinellas

CLEARWATER, FL — It's a sure sign that Florida is in the midst of gator mating season when law enforcement is called out to remove alligators from homeowners' gardens, beneath cars and from shopping center parking lots, as was the case this week in Pinellas County.

On Tuesday morning, Clearwater police responded after a wayward alligator was found camped out under a parked car in the parking lot of a business on U.S. 19.

When a trapper arrived, the gator tried to flee and elude police, but was lassoed and set free in a more suitable environment. No charges were filed against the gator for fleeing and eluding police, joked officers.

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The Pinellas sheriff's office was summoned to capture a baby gator hiding in some bushes. The gator resisted capture but settled down once it was released in a nearby pond.

And Pinellas Park police officers, with the help of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation officers managed to remove a sizable gator found strolling through the parking lot of a shopping center. Like the other gators, it was released into a nearby pond.

Alligator encounters in the spring are inevitable in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. While American alligators normally stick close to home throughout most of the year, in the spring they tend to wander as they seek out mates and new sources of food, increasing the chances of encounters with people.

Alligator courtships begin in early April, and the wandering continues through mating season in May and June.

Female gators then build a mound nest of soil, vegetation, or debris and deposit approximately 32 to 46 eggs in late June or early July. Incubation requires approximately 60-65 days, so hatching occurs in late August or early September. From an average clutch size of 35, an estimated four alligators will reach maturity.

While the sight of a gator walking across a neighborhood street can be alarming, the FWC emphasized that alligators are an integral part of Florida's ecosystem and should not be considered nuisances.

According to the FWC, from 1948 to 2021, 442 unprovoked bite incidents have occurred in Florida. Twenty-six of the bites were fatal, 303 people received major injuries and 139 received minor injuries.

In 2022, there were nine major and two minor gator attacks with no deaths, according to the FWC report on alligator attacks.

In 2021, there were seven major and two minor attacks with no deaths and in 2020 there were eight major and four minor attacks with no deaths.

The last time there was a fatal alligator attack was in 2019 when one person died. That year, there were five major and five minor alligator attacks.

In the past 10 years, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has received an average of nearly 16,000 alligator-related complaints per year. Most of these complaints deal with alligators appearing in backyard ponds, canals, ditches and streams, but other conflicts occur when alligators wander into garages, swimming pools and golf course ponds.

Calling a trapper should be a last resort. Under the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program, FWC-licensed trappers are instructed to destroy the gator, not relocate it. Generally, an alligator may be considered a nuisance if it is at least 4 feet long and is believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property.

The reason for destroying the nuisance gators is to prevent them from returning to their capture site. To avoid this problem, nuisance alligators would need to be relocated to remote areas where they would not encounter people. These remote areas already have healthy alligator populations, and the ones that live there have established social structures. The introduction of a new alligator to these areas would likely cause fighting, possibly resulting in the death of a resident alligator or the introduced alligator.

There are ways people, pets and gators can co-exist, said the FWC.

• Never feed alligators — it’s dangerous and illegal. When fed, alligators can overcome their natural wariness and learn to associate people with food. When this happens, some of these alligators have to be removed and killed.
• Dispose of fish scraps in garbage cans at boat ramps and fish camps. Do not throw them into the water. Although you are not intentionally feeding alligators when you do this, the result can be the same.
• Observe and photograph alligators only from a distance.
• Be aware of the possibility of alligators when you are in or near fresh or brackish water. Bites may occur when people do not pay close enough attention to their surroundings when near water.
• Do not swim outside posted swimming areas or in waters that might be inhabited by large alligators.
• Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn. Therefore, avoid swimming at night.
• Dogs and cats are similar in size to the natural prey of alligators. Don’t allow pets to swim, exercise or drink in or near waters that may contain alligators. Dogs often attract an alligator’s interest, so do not swim with your dog.
• Leave alligators alone. State law prohibits killing, harassing or possessing alligators. Handling even small alligators can result in injury.

To report a nuisance alligator, call 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).

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