Alligators are armored apex predators, with railroad-spike teeth and a bite force without peer in today's world. They have survived for millions of years almost entirely unchanged, because they are the perfect killing machine and absolutely dominant in their environment.
What is the surest way to avoid an alligator attack …
(This is where a sarcasm font would surely be helpful. since there is not a sarcasm font, you should read the rest of this article in your inner sarcasm voice.)
Well, fortunately for us, a study from the University of Florida has the answer for reducing our risk of alligator attack:
Stay away from alligators.
"[This] research is the first to develop a ranking system that categorizes human actions immediately before an alligator encounter," the University of Florida said in a statement.
(High, medium, and low-risk factors - and they all had one thing in common.)
The research team analyzed nearly 300 years' worth of records, from 1734 to 2021, on human-alligator interactions using the CrocBITE database.
"The team then augmented that information with internet searches, literature review and communications with wildlife agencies," the statement added.
"Each case was classified by the level of human behavior risk: no risk, low, moderate or high."
So what are the high-risk behaviors? Well, that was a real shocker: Turns out that the high-risk behaviors, the behaviors that are most likely to result in a human being the target of an alligator's death spin, all involve... being near an alligator.
"The highest proportion of fatal bites occurred after high-risk behaviors, such as deliberately entering alligator-inhabited waters," the press release noted.
Speaking as a biologist, I can say that this research has wide-ranging implications. We can extrapolate this information to a wide range of potentially dangerous critters:
Highest-risk behavior that might result in a bear attack? Being near a bear.
Highest-risk behavior that might result in a moose attack? Being near a moose.
Highest-risk behavior that might result in a feral hog attack? Being near a feral hog.
Highest-risk behavior that might result in a wombat attack? Being near a wombat.
This is some fascinating, ground-breaking stuff.
Seriously, though - yes, the above was my trademarked biting sarcasm - this seems like an enormous waste of money on the part of the University of Florida. If one wanted to know how to avoid an alligator attack, all one would have to do is wander back into the Everglades, find the most remote cabin in that wild place, and ask the resident how to avoid an alligator attack, and it's a near-certainty that the answer will be "Well, I'd recommend staying away from alligators."
I can't imagine who thought this was necessary.
https://redstate.com/wardclark/2025/05/09/u-of-florida-makes-earth-shattering-discovery-on-what-causes-alligator-attacks-being-near-alligators-n2188877
