According to wildlife officials, the bellow of alligators heralds the onset of spring in the  Sunshine State.  Alligators are cold-blooded reptiles whose metabolic rate increases as the weather warms, causing them to become more active in their search for food, mates and individual territories.  As a result, regional offices of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservatiion Commission (FWCC) receive thousands of phone calls at this time of year, asking what to do about the alligator taking a dip in the family pool or the one stealing 40 winks in the flowerbed at the entrance to the mobile home park.  Here's how the FWCC recommends you handle the situation if an alligator comes calling in your area.   

        If there's no immediate danger, the best thing to do is leave the alligator alone.  Because alligators sometimes need to move great distances to meet their survival needs, they often show up in locations such as driveways, garages, back yards or swimming pools.  These usually are temporary resting places for these animals.  More than likely the gator will leave on its own.

        People should report only alligators that are actively causing problems or posing a threat to public safety.  They should not report a gator that's simply sunning itself on a bank or swimming in a lake - just doing what alligators do.  However, if an alligator actively threatens humans, pets or livestlck, call the FWCC immediately and file a nuisance complaint.

        If an alligator is longer than 4 feet and exhibits aggressive behavior, it's classified as a nuisance and is harvested for its meat and hide by permitted trappers.  Alligators that are larger than 6 feet present the greatest hazard to humans and pets.  Smaller gators of 4 feet or less in length pose little threat to people, but they can deliver a nasty bite that should be seen by a physician.  The bacteria in an alligator's mouth cause wounds to become infected easily.

        According to government estimates, there are more than 1.5 million adult alligators and 16 million million people in Florida.  As a result, people and alligators come in contact on a daily basis, usually with no harmful effects to either species.  That's because Florida alligators are generally timid and avoid humans whenever possible.  But how do you know when one of these alligators has lost its fear of people and is being aggressive?

   Alligators are attracted to noises made by lawn mowers, weed eaters, airboat engines or splashing at the water's edge.  However, once the presence of a human is detected, most alligators will not approach any closer, remaining motionless as a defense.  When humans come too close for comfort, gators usually retreat quickly.  If an alligator doesn't retreat when a person approaches, it may have lost its' natural fear of people and could become a problem.

        "Emergency complaints, describing aggressive alligators that threaten children at play, or alligators that pose an immediate threat to public safety, will be given top priority," said Gary Morse, public information director for the FWCC Southwest Region.  "All complaints, emergency in nature or not, will be evaluated, and if necessary a nuisance trapper will be sent to harvest the gator.

        "Unfortunately, some people intentionally embellish an animal's size and behavior when reporting a nuisance alligator.  These false reports compromise the effectiveness of the nuisance alligator program by creating a backlog for FWCC trappers.

        "In order for the system to work properly, complainants need to give an honest appraisal oa an animal's size and behavior, so that real threats can receive priority attention," said Morse.

        To report nuisance alligators, call 1-888-404-3922.

Source:  Florida Game & Fish