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Gators and kids

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I've paddled in the south since a young man, including many places with gators. I mostly enjoy it. But I've found them more aggressive than black bears.

I now paddle with my kids, and I'm reluctant to take them places with lots of gators. So far we've stuck to places like the Great Dismal Swamp where there are few, if any, gators.

I've had some encounters as a young man I don't think I'd want to repeat with my children. I had a mama gator run me out of a creek in the Santee delta of South Carolina. I encountered another gator in Wambaw Creek who was honestly bigger than my 14 ft canoe and positioned himself for an ambush.

But I would like to show them places like Three Sisters Swamp, Winyah Bay, the Congaree River and Sparkleberry, and even the Santee delta.

Any thoughts? Can anyone convince me I'm paranoid? Or am I doing the right thing staying away from places with lots of gators.
 

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As long as the kids stay in the boat I don't see a problem. I wouldn't have taken my Grandkids camping on Cape Sable in the Everglades when they were small. There are crocodiles there, not gators, but both are opportunistic feeders that have been known to eat people.
 
Evidence says don't worry about it but be aware and mindful.
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/archive/hot_topics/environment/alligator_safety.shtml
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/how-to-survive-alligator-attack/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_alligator_attacks_in_the_United_States

There are about 10 unprovoked alligator attacks on people in Florida each year for the past decade. These alligator attacks resulted in about 6 deaths over 10 years. For context there are on average 7 deaths per year from lighting strikes in Florida each year.
 
Yeah, that isn't reassuring. Adults are too big, but kids are in their prey range. This agrees with what I've heard from people who live in the lowcountry, including one person who saw a retriever get eaten.

Also this, ""Education is key to avoiding a bad encounter, Andrews said. Start with knowing when gators are most active.
Courtship season starts as spring warms up; mating extends in early summer; and in Okefenokee Swamp in southeastern Georgia, "we start to see eggs hatch out starting in September and October. ... And that's when the females are most protective when they feel someone is threatening their babies," Andrews said.
Your best season is winter: If it's cold, "they're not doing whole lot.""

So basically stay out of the swamps except for the middle of winter and maybe the middle of summer? I do not want to go canoe tripping along the Congaree River in middle of summer time.
 
Evidence says don't worry about it but be aware and mindful.
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/archive/hot_topics/environment/alligator_safety.shtml
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/how-to-survive-alligator-attack/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_alligator_attacks_in_the_United_States

There are about 10 unprovoked alligator attacks on people in Florida each year for the past decade. These alligator attacks resulted in about 6 deaths over 10 years. For context there are on average 7 deaths per year from lighting strikes in Florida each year.
I don't know about numbers but that one little 3 year old that got killed at Disney World a few years ago is enough for me.
 
It's pretty hard to find gator-less water bodies in the South. I've paddled there on and off for 50 years, and have always found gators to flee away when they see my canoe. With one exception, below.

Generally, I've found that I have to be careful about surprising them. They usually rest on sunny spots on the shore or logs. So, I stay away from those spots. I especially avoid being close to the shore on the inside turn of a river because you can't see a gator that may be sunning right around the corner.

The exception to fleeing was when I must have surprised a submerged gator while quietly gliding right over him in a shallow lake in Florida in my Hawaiian outrigger canoe. There was a big thump under the rear of my 22' cigar-shaped hull, not a place that a submerged log would hit. The hull was punctured by a row of small holes and I sank in the middle of the lake. My surmise is that the surprised gator either instinctively bit at the hull or whomped it with its spiked head or tail as it thrashed to get away from me.

I don't personally have concern that prevents me from paddling solo in gator waters. My concern would be ratcheted much higher with small children. I did take my kids out a few times in Florida when they were about 15, 12 and 7, and we were careful.
 
In my opinion, you're not overly paranoid. Admittedly, it probably has a lot to do with familiarity but I've never been too worried about bears. Those big reptiles, however, are cause for concern and they fascinate me while, at the same time, giving me the creeps.

In your TR, you indicated that your kids are elementary school-aged. Like everything else (and like any other animal), you need to be more aware and more protective when they're young and a little "paranoid" is probably healthy. They'll get bigger and you've (hopefully) got time.
 
I once paddled on the St John's River west of the Space Coast. The first alligators I startled were small. The dove off the bank and stayed under, startling me too. The bigger ones after just sauntered into the river and swam with their eyes at the surface watching me. I have a theory that if animals fear me, I don't have to fear them. Those big gators seemed more curious than afraid. As I was alone, I paddled on.
Are they less common in brackish waters?
 
I spend a month paddling in Florida and have paddled the Congaree and a bit of Sparkleberry.. I am wary of bends in the river. Never surprise a gator. One went over the bow of my canoe on the Hillsborough . Almost. His tail landed in the canoe in the bow.. It followed him rapidly leaving and there was no upset.. I have paddled over gators in Louisiana in Cane Bayou.. bump.. oh not a log. I got chased by a male gator in the Everglades and it was again a surprise to him to have me emerge 20 feet from him.. Plus it was mating season.. They are not friendly in March in the Everglades.
Last year we paddled lakes near Ocklawaha FL and one gator was not in a good mood. We were some 100 feet away and instead of just sliding into the water he high stepped into the water and swam aggressively toward us with a lot of splash. It was a bluff charge for maybe 40 feet.
I don't personally have any concern but small children are awfully prey size. Gators eat only once every couple of weeks but who can tell a hungry gator from a satiated gator? This was taken from dry land.. Gator was busy at lunch
 

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I spend a month paddling in Florida and have paddled the Congaree and a bit of Sparkleberry.. I am wary of bends in the river. Never surprise a gator. One went over the bow of my canoe on the Hillsborough . Almost. His tail landed in the canoe in the bow.. It followed him rapidly leaving and there was no upset.. I have paddled over gators in Louisiana in Cane Bayou.. bump.. oh not a log. I got chased by a male gator in the Everglades and it was again a surprise to him to have me emerge 20 feet from him.. Plus it was mating season.. They are not friendly in March in the Everglades.
Last year we paddled lakes near Ocklawaha FL and one gator was not in a good mood. We were some 100 feet away and instead of just sliding into the water he high stepped into the water and swam aggressively toward us with a lot of splash. It was a bluff charge for maybe 40 feet.
I don't personally have any concern but small children are awfully prey size. Gators eat only once every couple of weeks but who can tell a hungry gator from a satiated gator? This was taken from dry land.. Gator was busy at lunch
 
I once paddled on the St John's River west of the Space Coast. The first alligators I startled were small. The dove off the bank and stayed under, startling me too. The bigger ones after just sauntered into the river and swam with their eyes at the surface watching me. I have a theory that if animals fear me, I don't have to fear them. Those big gators seemed more curious than afraid. As I was alone, I paddled on.
Are they less common in brackish waters?
Gators like fresh water and crocs salt water. But in the Everglades in brackish waters there still are gators..
 
Can't speak to Sparkleberry Swamp, but 30 years living in Columbia, SC I never saw nor talked to someone who had seen a gator in the Congaree. It is very much on the edge of their range. Which isn't to say they aren't there, but their numbers are small. So I think putting the Congaree on you itinerary, along with Cedar Creek in Congaree National Park, would be good. The Wateree would also be good.
 
I’ve bumped gators in Florida, with splash-tastic results. On one of my favorite local spots, the Wacissa River, the upper portion is full of lazy comfortable gators that are used to kayaks and canoes. Down past slave canal when joining up with the Aucilla, gators leave from the next bend down when they see you. I surmise a measure of hunting pressure.
 
I worked a season in Okefenokee (at the visitor center, but paddled constantly in my free time) and two years in the Everglades, doing research on pythons, crocs, and gators. American crocs, limited to far south FL in the US, are primarily fish eaters and I wouldn't worry about them as predators for the most part. The issues of mutual suprises, nesting females, etc still stand.

Gators are curious and easily habituated to people. They can be particularly dangerous at boat ramps where they learn to steal fish off fishing lines. Anywhere that they're being fed, they can become "aggressive", just like bears. In the back-country, they're much more retiring. My research group in the Glades, just before I started working there, did a study involving traversing gator holes taking depth measurements. Gators were occassionally stepped on with no issues. I have safely glided over several mid-sized gators in a kayak with a couple inches freeboard without issue. But I agree that you don't want to surpprise them. And I wouldn't want to have a gator suprising the kids result in a capsize.

I would take small kids in a canoe with a lot of primary stability, if the kids are well aware of gator safety and were good listeners. Common sense like avoiding surprises, avoiding nesting gators, keeping the kids from splashing around in the shallows, etc. Everything is risky, but starting with common sense safety early in life seems worth it to me, within reason. If the kids also live in the south, isn't it better for them to learn from an early age how to be outside safely? I'd be more nervous with the kids at the shoreline than in the boat. Some gunnel-thumping with paddles might be an asset in this case, letting gators know you're coming.
 
“In western Pennsylvania, none of us have specialized alligator training,” said Bartolicius. “This isn’t something they give you in the police academy.”


On edit: The WSJ article linked above may be behind a paywall for some. Here's an earlier and shorter article:

 
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