Researchers say that most alligator bites stem from one thing, looking back many years to reach a conclusion for their study.
Scientists from the University of Florida (UF) compiled the information with help from experts at Centre College in Kentucky, Fox News reported Friday.
“Published in the journal Human – Wildlife Interactions, the research is the first to develop a ranking system that categorizes human actions immediately before an alligator encounter. Researchers found that in 96% of recorded incidents, some form of human inattention or risk-taking preceded the attack. The findings show how alligator bites are not random; they’re preventable,” UF said in a press release.
Per the study’s abstract, interactions between people and alligators have occurred for centuries in the United States, noting that contact and conflict between the populations was inevitable because their numbers increased over time:
To complete our review in 2021, we initially gleaned data regarding alligator attacks on humans from the CrocBITE website between the years 1734 and 2021. We augmented the details of each incident with additional information obtained by an internet search (e.g., Google) and then cross-referenced all information with existing literature (e.g., books detailing specific human–alligator interactions) and by communicating via email and/or telephone with state fish and wildlife agencies. Our ranking system indicated that 96% (26% low risk, 48% moderate risk, 22% high risk) of the recorded human–alligator incidents reviewed were caused by some level of human inattention in the form of risky behaviors, often while participating in recreational water activities.
The researchers said it is important for people to know how to be safe and responsible in areas where alligators live.
“By making a conscious effort to implement proactive and preventative safety measures, human injury and death as well as the needless destruction of alligators can be reduced,” the abstract stated.
There have been numerous incidents when alligators caught people off guard. One instance happened in March 2023 when a man in Daytona Beach, Florida, was bitten by an alligator after opening his front door and startling the creature. The alligator lunged and bit the man’s thigh, per Breitbart News.
In 2020, another man in Florida was walking his small dog by a pond when an alligator grabbed his pet. However, the man leaped into action and was able to save the dog:
However, a more recent incident involving a barefoot man in Jacksonville, Florida, shows how people can sometimes overpower alligators to get them back to safety. The man was seen wrangling a 10-foot alligator on the side of a highway, per Breitbart News.
Wrangler Mike Dragich said, “He was a fat alligator and he’s a male and he was out looking for a female. I’m shocked that he made it across the main road. Four lanes of 95 traffic in the heat of traffic.”
