Alligators are some of the scariest reptiles found in the United States. Alligators can grow to very large sizes and are capable of doing severe damage to humans. That said, they actually attack humans as they generally prefer smaller targets such as birds or even fish. But what about the rare occasions? Do alligators ever eat humans?
Alligators have been known to eat humans, although it’s not their natural prey. But if alligators are starved from their usual food source, and the opportunity presents itself, they can attack people. Alligators do tire quickly, and they also have a natural fear of humans. So your chances of getting eaten by an alligator are slim.
You want to keep in mind that although alligators don’t immediately prey on humans, small children can be mistaken for their usual targets. Keep in mind this and stay aware of your surroundings. Do this especially when near bodies of water in areas where there are a lot of alligator sightings or activity. If you’re curious about whether alligators can actually eat humans, keep reading for more.
Can An Alligator Eat A Human?
The simple answer to this is, yes, a large alligator is capable of eating a human. However, alligators generally don’t attack humans, not including the chance of aggregation or protection being involved. One of the reasons that these animals don’t specifically target humans is because humans are simply too large. Of course, this is dependent on a few things, such as the height or build of a person.
You also have to take into consideration that although an alligator has the ability to eat a person, it is not very common. Technically, they would have to break a human down into portions that they can handle per bite. Regardless of their ability to hunt and kill prey that is similar to the size of a human, they rarely prey on humans.
Although alligators don’t specifically target humans consistently, they are quite fast and quickly react when they feel in danger. Luckily, these large reptiles lack consistent endurance. In short, you can outrun an alligator with proper time handling and warning if luck is on your side where you get enough warning. So, try to be proactive and not give any alligators the opportunity to mistake you for their prey.
Are Alligators Aggressive Toward Humans?
Typically speaking, alligators seldom bite people unless they are looking for food, of course. Whether or not an alligator is aggressive toward a person is completely based on the circumstance of the situation and their environment. Usually, if an alligator is targeting a person, it’s from some sense of aggression.
Here are a few examples as to why an alligator might charge a person. A mating male could be present, or if a human is near a nest, the female may act on her natural instinct to protect it. Suppose a human ever experiences an alligator lunging toward them. In that case, they are probably near a shoreline or at the edge of any body of water. They may not typically be aggressive, but they will protect themselves and their young if they feel threatened by a human.
As a general rule of thumb, alligators are more aggressive throughout the mating season. So, pay very close attention during the months of June and July if you live in areas where there is a lot of alligator activity because female alligators usually lay their eggs in ground nests during this time.
How Often Do Alligators Kill Humans?
Thankfully, alligators don’t attack humans all that often. Alligators are common wildlife in the Southeastern United States, so encounters are fairly frequent. Most commonly alligators are found along the east coast of Texas all the way down the coastline to Florida.
This is why every homeowner with a pool in Florida has a gator fence or enclosure to prevent alligators from getting inside. However, it’s pets, like dogs and cats, that are most likely to be eaten by an alligator, not humans.
Alligators are responsible for less than 6% of fatal attacks that are caused by animals worldwide. Only about 4% of alligator attacks throughout the United States have been fatal. You also want to base this on certain areas. If you think of a location such as Florida, bite statistics can range around 3 major bites per year by an alligator.
However, the chance of someone being attacked by an alligator is 1 in 3.2 million, but this does not include provocation instances. Remember that alligator attacks are often driven by chance. There are certain things that you should not do to limit and significantly decrease the chances that you have of experiencing an alligator attack.
A few things that you shouldn’t do are feed alligators, swim in waters that are infested by alligators, or stand or play too close to the edge of a body of water. Stay aware of this, especially if you are not fully familiar with a particular area. You also want to ensure that you aren’t ignoring any posted warnings concerning alligator activity, and you want to ensure that you never swim alone in any body of water.
What Are Some Causes of Alligator Attacks?
Let’s continue to look at Florida. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, it was found that most of the victims of alligator bites were male. Male victims actually made up 81.4% of the population of humans that have suffered alligator bites in Florida. More than 93% of those men were in the water or at least near the shore when the attack took place.
This is one of the reasons why you want to stay aware of your surroundings and not stand or play too close to the edge of any body of water. Additionally, researchers have also found that most of the alligators were male despite the belief that female alligators carry out most attacks in an attempt to defend their nests. 76.9% of the alligators that have been humans in Florida were male.
Never Feed An Alligator
You may also find it interesting to know that almost 35% of those who experienced a direct attack attempted to feed an alligator. Some of the attacks were also due to humans trying to protect or rescue their pets. Some people will do things to protect their pets or children are endless, but there are ways to stay proactive and prevent alligator attacks. You just have to stay vigilant, calm, and know what to do if you are ever caught in the situation of an attack.
For those of you that have a passion for golf, you should know that golf courses are often a hotspot for alligators. So, you want to make sure you pay attention and that you aren’t completely distracted by the hole you’re on.
Watch Out For Alligators When Golfing In Florida
At least 14% of the complete number of recorded alligator attacks happen on golf courses. Many golfers have an increased chance of experiencing an alligator attack due to the fact that balls are often lost near or even in a body of water on a golf course. This is a prime area for alligator sightings and activity.
Since this frequently happens while on the golf course, you want to make sure that you bring multiple balls. It isn’t worth searching for the same ball near a body of water, which may increase your chances of being snatched in by a hungry gator. All these findings are meant to significantly reduce the frequency of attacks. Many of them can be prevented if people are knowledgeable about their area and if any of those areas are often inhabited by alligators.
More than half of the battle is made up of awareness and prevention. Avoid swimming in certain bodies of water, try not to allow your dogs to play in certain bodies of water or to stand near them, avoid water activities at night and consider creating physical barriers between you and a potentially wandering alligator.
Gator Proof Your Backyard
This could be something as simple as adding a privacy fence to your home that does not leave space for an alligator to squeeze into or to go underneath. This could also involve installing some form of a deterrent system at your home or even carrying something that you could use to fight off an alligator if you are ever caught off guard and attacked.
Mating season is another factor that increases the risk of alligators. Whether it’s April through May, where male alligators are actively roaming for their breeding season, or if it’s during the time that female alligators lay their nests on land, you want to stay vigilant.
Also, just like all other animals, gators are protective over their babies. When alligators have a nest of eggs incubating, they’re incredibly dangerous.
How To Avoid Getting Eaten By An Alligator
Of course, the best way to avoid getting eaten by an alligator is to avoid alligator hotspots. But suppose you are ever caught in a situation where an alligator attacks you in the water you want to resist the bite. If you feel an alligator clamp down on the part of your body, forget trying to get its mouth open.
You want to do everything that you can to cause confusion throughout the entire incident. Make as much noise as possible and splash around. You basically want to disorient the alligator. You will be able to tell if the animal’s jaws are loosening and if the tactic is working from the reaction of the alligator.
Use this opportunity to simply poke it in the eye. The pain that the animal will experience will give you enough time to escape but use this time wisely because alligators are still fast in the water.
If you experience a potential alligator attack on land and you have enough time to react, run as fast as you can without panicking. Although alligators can run quickly, they tire just as fast. Suppose an alligator is approaching you on land. In that case, you will have to go for them because they lose interest in running down their prey.
Alligators naturally stalk their prey when they hunt, so if you can outrun an alligator, you shouldn’t expect them to run after you for too long. For more on this subject check out this article from Business Insider on surviving an alligator attack.
Alligator Can Eat Humans But It Is Usually Preventable
Remember the key rules of alligator safety. Never attempt to feed an alligator. Doing this will increase the chances that alligators will start to associate humans with food more often. Try to maintain your distance from an alligator that you know is nearby. If you come to an alligator in the road, never attempt to move it. Alligator attacks are more common when evoked.
It is actually illegal to harass or even throw things at alligators, and this law is strictly enforced. This may go without saying, but don’t disturb any nests or small alligators. Assume that wherever you see a baby alligator, the mother is nearby. This is one of the main causes of alligator attacks.
Female alligators can be very territorial, especially around their nests. Never give an alligator any reason to suspect that their young are in danger. With alligators or any type of predator for that matter, the best rule to go by here is to stay observant and to be as proactive as possible.
Although an alligator won’t generally target a human without provocation or experiencing increased hunger. That said, always assume that an alligator is hungry, so never attempt to feed, touch, or play with one.