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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 while swimming in a river.
- Dr. Edwin Everham with Florida Gulf Coast University suggests long-term drought conditions 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, emphasizes feeding alligators creates a dangerous lack of fear. "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.
- Licensed trappers are typically called in by The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission when a gator becomes a problem; removed animals usually become trapper property for processing or sale to exhibits.
- Estero resident Richard Wilbanks, who famously saved his puppy Gunner from an alligator in 2020, now promotes wildlife safety education. "We probably need more education in how to cope with wildlife," Wilbanks said.
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