Gators are lurking in Georgia waters. But, how dangerous are they?
When news broke that the first detainees arrived at President Trump’s newest detention facility in the Florida Everglades, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” there were significant and vastly polarized reactions.
In fact, there has been a lot of discourse about the detention center from both sides of the aisle, and aside from its early “operational issues,” the tactic of using alligators and pythons to guard the grounds is getting most of the attention.
With so much talk about prisoners getting eaten or attacked by alligators, it leaves some people wondering if alligators are really all that dangerous.
The alligator situation in Georgia
For many Georgia residents, alligators, and snakes for that matter, are a real part of the ecosystem here, and the Chattahoochee River is known to have a few lurking around as well.
The Georgia Wildlife Resources Division says our state is home to an estimated 200,000 to 250,000 American alligators, all living south of the Fall Line, and we are ranked fourth in the U.S. for alligator populations, behind Louisiana, Florida and Texas.
Alligators are a protected species in Georgia and can usually make their nests in marshes, swamps, rivers or golf course ponds. If you live near any kind of water, you’re highly likely to encounter an alligator.
Are alligator attacks common?
Not really. Attacks on people are exceedingly uncommon, averaging well below one per year, and fatal incidents are even rarer.
Here are a few statistics from Georgia Department of Natural Resources:
There were nine reported alligator bites from 1980 to July 2023
Georgia had one fatality, in 2007.
Six of the reported bites happened because of a human making contact with a submerged alligator.
What to do during an alligator encounter
Here’s what the DNR says NOT to do:
Don’t feed it. That turns a wild animal into a problem animal. Feeding gators is illegal for a reason.
Don’t try to pet it. This seems obvious, but it’s more common than you think.
Don’t let your pets or kids wade near ponds in known gator zones. Gators can mistake small animals for prey.
Don’t assume small equals safe. A 3-foot gator can still pack a major bite, and they are very fast.
If you come across an alligator that has become aggressive, you should not try to handle it on your own. The Department of Natural Resources will intervene and Georgia has a nuisance alligator program, which removes gators over four feet in length that are posing a danger to people or property.
Your odds of being attacked by an alligator are lower than your odds of being struck by lightning or bitten by a rabid raccoon. The takeaway is that if you leave them alone they will most likely leave you alone.
What are your opinions about using alligators as an escape deterrent? Have you ever seen an alligator behave strangely? Email me at srose@ledger-enquirer.com or find me on social media.
This story was originally published July 8, 2025 at 2:04 PM.
